Sammi Awuku warns of looming national crisis as NIA-GRA feud escalates

Vice Chair of Parliament’s Public Administration and State Interests Committee, Sammi Awuku, has cautioned the government over what he describes as a growing institutional breakdown between the National Identification Authority (NIA) and the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), warning that it poses a direct threat to national stability and digital governance.

His concern follows the NIA’s suspension of the GRA’s access to its Identity Verification System Platform (IVSP) on August 5, over an alleged GH¢376 million debt — a move that has since disrupted revenue collection systems, delayed port activities, and stalled key public services.

In a Facebook post, Awuku said the development signals not just a fiscal disagreement, but a deeper governance failure that risks crippling the country’s digital identity infrastructure and undermining inter-agency cooperation.

“This goes beyond funding issues and the effect of this financial constraints is the NIA’s inability to carry out vital system upgrades or implement international best practices in data protection which is gradually becoming a cybersecurity and national security threat,” the Akropong MP said.

“If NIA’s systems are compromised, we are all at risk, from identity theft to institutional collapse. That’s not a hypothetical threat. It’s a real, growing danger.”

He disclosed that the NIA had requested GH¢78 million in the 2025 budget for operational expansion and cybersecurity safeguards but received only GH¢21 million.

According to him, the figure reflects a troubling underappreciation of the Authority’s critical role in national security and digital public services.

While the GRA has rejected the debt claims, describing them as legacy transactions lacking formal regulatory approvals, Awuku said the impasse reveals a systemic failure in how state institutions are funded, coordinated, and governed.

He called on the Ministry of Finance, the Presidency, and Cabinet to step in immediately to mediate the situation and provide a sustainable framework for inter-agency engagement.