NIA boss receives 2-year contract from Akufo-Addo as he retires today

The Executive Secretary of the National Identification Authority (NIA), Professor Kenneth Agyemang Attafuah, who retires from public service today, has been given a two-year contract extension.

Prof Attafuah attains the retirement age of 60 on Saturday, November 9, 2019, but President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has approved a recommendation of the NIA board asking him to stay on for two more years.

His new contract takes effect from Monday, November 11, 2019 to November 10, 2021, a memo signed by the head of administration and human resources, Mr W.K. Baffoe-Mensah to all NIA staff read in part.

President Nana Akufo-Addo first appointed the criminologist to the NIA executive position on January 27, 2017 to charge of the institution which has been mandated to among other things, register all Ghanaians across the country and issue them with national identification cards.

He was the first executive secretary of the NIA under the John Agyekum Kufuor’s administration.

Despite numerous challenges with the registration exercise which started in the Greater Accra Region in April this year, a lot of progress have been made.

In the midst of the recent registration challenges which was widely criticised, some critics called for his resignation but the astute lawyer remained unfazed.

In May this year, he described his NIA job as his worst ever.

“In fact it is my worst job. It’s not just the insults or attacks or the pressure that comes with it but everything with it. All I have always tried to do is to serve my nation with the best that I have in me but you can’t get all to appreciate it from that point of view,” Prof Attafuah told Starr FM.