–BY Daniel Bampoe
The National Intelligence Bureau, NIB, is investigating former Education Minister Dr. Matthew Opoku-Prempeh—popularly known as Napo—over a controversial multi-million cedi contract for the supply of mathematical sets to senior high school students during his tenure.
Also before the NIB is his former deputy and later substantive minister, Yaw Osei Adutwum who is flip flopping on his presidential ambitions, having earlier announced his intent in a Facebook post.
Both ministers are also being investigated for the award of WiFi contract to Busy Internet. The contract involved the installation of free WiFi to Senior High Schools under the free SHS programme.
According to sources the former Chief Director in the Education Ministry who allegedly signed the contracts is also in the dragnet.
The Math Sets contract, initially presented as a time-sensitive intervention to support students ahead of the 2020 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE), has come under scrutiny due to procurement irregularities, delayed deliveries, and questions of ministerial accountability.
In 2018, a company named Transnational Ltd approached the Ministry of Education to introduce Bluegrass Ltd, which had developed a unique product: a WAEC-compliant mathematical set that combined a non-programmable scientific calculator with standard math tools.
The proposal was presented as a solution to exam malpractice, and the Ministry of Education—led by Dr. Opoku-Prempeh—subsequently engaged the Ghana Education Service (GES) for technical assessment.
GES, which sits on the WAEC International Council, wrote to WAEC for guidance.
On February 5, 2019, WAEC responded, referencing a prior retreat in Lagos where Council members agreed on the need to standardize examination instruments.
WAEC encouraged the adoption of officially approved math sets and disclosed that the design was developed in collaboration with Cornfill Ltd.
On the basis of these recommendations, the GES Director-General formally advised the Ministry to procure the sets, stating that they met WAEC’s requirements.
On March 12, 2019, the Ministry wrote to the Public Procurement Authority (PPA) seeking approval to sole-source the contract. Citing urgency due to the upcoming WASSCE, the Ministry justified the procurement of 853,009 units at a cost of GHC75 ($7) each—bringing the total to GHC63,975,675.
The PPA granted approval, and Parliament subsequently endorsed a tax waiver worth $3.6 million to facilitate the importation.
Bluegrass Ltd, the company contracted to deliver the sets, was allegedly linked to Kwadwo Darko-Mensah, also known as Onasis—a businessman with reported political ties.
However, despite the urgency attached to the deal, the math sets did not arrive in time for the 2020 WASSCE. COVID-19 restrictions were cited as the reason for the delay.
Concerns began to mount when the company failed to clearly state how many sets had actually been delivered, even after announcing the arrival of a “first consignment.”
In January 2021, Kwadwo Darko-Mensah was arrested by the NIB under the pretext of an arms search, but investigations later confirmed that the real focus was the mathematical sets contract.
NIB sources indicated that only about 50% of the items had been delivered, contrary to claims of full delivery.
The matter resurfaced during Dr. Opoku-Prempeh’s vetting for the position of Energy Minister in February 2021. Under questioning from Tamale North MP, Alhassan Suhuyini, he denied personally knowing the CEO of Bluegrass Ltd and attempted to shift responsibility for the contract to his then-deputy, Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum.
Dr. Opoku-Prempeh has now confirmed that he was recently invited by the NIB to assist in ongoing investigations. In an interview with 1957 News, he disclosed that he had appeared before the Bureau on two occasions and spent an entire day responding to their questions.
In one session, he was allegedly grilled on the WiFi contract to Busy Internet, spending over 7hours at a go.
“I have forgotten some of the issues; I can’t remember everything that happened while I was in office,” he said, adding that technocrats and institutional records would provide more details.
While he maintains that he fully cooperated with investigators, his appearance before the Bureau signals the seriousness with which the matter is being handled.
The NIB is reportedly expanding its probe to cover other appointees from the previous administration.
High-profile individuals, including former National Service Authority Director General, Assibey Yeboah, his deputies, Kwaku Ohene Gyan and Gifty Oware Mensah and Professor Ameyaw Ekumfi, GIIF Boarch Chairman are also said to have been questioned.
The ongoing investigation casts a long shadow over one of the largest education-related procurements in recent years, raising broader concerns about procurement processes, the use of sole sourcing, and the level of ministerial oversight in public contracts.
