NLC rules in favour of NIA: Dismissal of Staff justified

The National Labour Commission (NLC) has ruled in favour of the National Identification Authority (NIA) and its former Executive Secretary, Professor Ken Attafuah, affirming that the dismissal of an employee in 2023 was justified.

The case involved Martin Akowuah, a former staff member at the NIA’s Madina district office, who was dismissed for unilaterally altering working hours without authorization. Akowuah later challenged the decision, petitioning the NLC on the grounds of unfair treatment.

In its ruling, the NLC stated that “the decision of the Respondent to dismiss the Complainant was in line with the Human Resource Management Policy Framework and Manual for the Ghana Public Service and NIA’s SOP on registration, for the unlawful, unilateral, and irregular alteration of the working hours of NIA without the due authorization and approval of NIA.”

Following the verdict, Professor Attafuah defended his leadership, rejecting claims that he treated the former employee unfairly.

“Mr. Martin Akowuah’s allegations that I treated him unfairly run contrary to my nature, and to everything I stand for, and to everything I have done as a human rights advocate here and abroad,” he said. “I believe I’m fair to a fault, using my training as a lawyer to serve humanity with integrity and to advance good governance in good conscience.”

The former NIA boss also highlighted the challenges of leadership in Ghana, pointing to excessive politicization, misinformation, and propaganda as obstacles to enforcing discipline and ethical leadership.

“Providing effective institutional leadership in Ghana is difficult due to excessive politicization, propaganda, and misinformation, which often distort the truth and undermine efforts to promote discipline and ethical leadership. Thankfully, in this case, truth has prevailed,” he added.