The Presidency has announced a probe into allegations of bought scholarships made by a former public official during a radio discussion on Sompa FM on February 2.

During the discussion, former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the National Entrepreneurship and Innovation Programme (NEIP), Kofi Ofosu Nkansah, claimed that someone paid a bribe to secure a government-sponsored overseas scholarship.

Reacting to the allegations, President John Mahama has ordered the National Investigation Bureau (NIB) to investigate alleged improprieties in the award of overseas scholarships.

This comes after the former public official’s allegations garnered widespread concern and reactions from the public.

According to the Minister of State for Government Communication, Mr Felix Ofosu Kwakye, the President views such an allegation as a serious matter of grave public concern, particularly given the government’s commitment to transparency, integrity, and equal access to educational opportunities.

In the President’s directive to the NIB, he ordered an immediate probe into the matter to establish the factual basis of the claim, identify any persons involved, and determine the veracity of the allegations.

“The Bureau has also been directed to submit its findings to the President for consideration and any appropriate action that may arise,” the letter added.

The directive was contained in a letter dated February 3, 2026, signed by Callistus Mahama, Secretary to the President, and addressed to the Director-General of the National Investigation Bureau.

Meanwhile, allegations of bribery and corruption in Ghana’s scholarship awards are not new. The current claims by the former NEIP CEO have reignited scrutiny, but similar narratives have surfaced in the past, including petitions and investigations into the Scholarship Secretariat.

The cases of purchased scholarships in Ghana is a long-standing issue.In September last year, a group called Positive Transparency and Accountability Movement-Ghana (PTAAM-GH) petitioned the OSP to begin investigating alleged corruption at the Ghana Scholarship Secretariat, which the anti-corruption institution launched the probe.

The petitioners claimed that scholarships were being awarded based on political connections, favouritism, and payments, rather than merit.

This probe followed earlier complaints dating back to 2024.

Meanwhile, in July last year, Ghanaian students on the Ghana government scholarship were reported to be in distress following various threats of eviction, revocation of visas, and potential deportation over unpaid tuition and other fees.

Earlier that month, it emerged that Ghanaian students in Memphis faced a housing eviction deadline of August 9, 2025, if they failed to pay a $3.6 million scholarship debt owed by Ghana’s Scholarship Secretariat.

The eviction threat was formally communicated to students in a circular dated July 14, 2025.

President of Memphis, Dr. Bill Hardgrave, during an interview on Action News 5’s Better on Wednesday, July 16, publicly validated the situation and the current condition of Ghanaian students facing eviction due to unpaid scholarship funds.

“The students are sponsored by the government of (sic) Ghana, which has not paid the students’ tuition for some time. I think there was a regime change in Ghana, and that affected the budget, but we’re hopeful that gets corrected because we’d love to keep those students on campus,” he confirmed.

In reaction to this, the Minister of Youth Development and Empowerment, George Opare Addo, during an appearance on Joy News' PM Express on Tuesday, July 23, revealed that the debt owed in terms of scholarship is owed to several schools across the world and not just one or two.

He said that an audit is underway to investigate the circumstances surrounding the scholarship debt crisis; however, the acting Registrar of the Ghana Scholarship Secretariat, Alex Kwaku Asafo-Agyei, has been on trips in the past few months to countries where students face threats of eviction, among other repercussions of the government's failure to settle their fees.

This, he revealed, is to negotiate and to help mitigate the pressure coming from these authorities on the affected students.

“There is a debt of fees that we have across the world. And so my registrar now has to go around the world and negotiate with schools, and that is what we’ve been undertaking in the last four, five months. I keep sending him, go here, go there, because you keep getting threats all over the world: ‘We are going to sack your students.’”

The former government left a startling GHC 700 million in unpaid scholarship debt, according to the Minister. He described the current situation as a “bad, bad, bad mess” that threatens the future of Ghanaian students abroad and the country’s international reputation.

“The current bill that I have is over ¢700 million in debt that we have to find money to pay,” he said.

Given the current state of our economy and the ballooning debt crisis, the Minister was asked whether the government had enough to pay, or was even willing to pay,the GH¢700 million.

In an empathetic response, he said, “It involves Ghanaian students; it involves lives. It involves our citizens. And so we must find the money to pay.”

While admitting that Ghana currently doesn't have this money in cash, he said negotiations are ongoing. He also commended the Chief of Staff for his input while they negotiated the terms of the debt.

“The Chief of Staff has been very helpful. With the Finance Minister and the Chief of Staff, we are working closely to offset the debt… So yes, we will pay, but we have to negotiate.”

Some schools, Mr. Opare said, have shown a positive response, understanding that the debt was inherited from the erstwhile government.

“They know that we are a new government that has come in. We inherited these problems, and so we are aligning and fixing them gradually.”

He also responded to reports of students receiving threats of eviction from their schools.

“You can’t blame this government for the mess we inherited. And most of these things have been outstanding for a year or two,” he continued.