Kodua Runs to Chief Imam for Prayers

As YEA Ghosts Haunt Him

By TNR Files

The images are striking. Justin Kodua Frimpong, General Secretary of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), kneeling before the National Chief Imam, Sheikh Osman Nuhu Sharubutu, seeking prayers and spiritual support.

The official line? A courtesy call ahead of his re-election bid.

But The New Republic has gathered that the visit to the revered Islamic leader was about more than just a political campaign. Deepening investigations by anti-graft agencies are closing in on the former Youth Employment Agency (YEA) CEO, with sources confirming that he could be picked up for questioning as early as next month.

According to persons familiar with the case, Kodua’s arrest is imminent potentially before the NPP’s national executive election scheduled for September.

The allegations centre on his tenure as Chief Executive Officer of YEA, where accusations of procurement infractions, misapplication of funds and financial recklessness have surfaced.

Speaking on Okay FM’s ‘Ade Akyea Abia’ programme, NDC aspiring National Communications Officer Abass Nurudeen dropped what many are calling a bombshell.

“He, Kodua must tread cautiously. Our elders say if you have cotton wool at your behind you do not jump over a blazing fire. He has questions to answer. The questionable things he engaged in at YEA, being procurement infractions I wish him well,” Nurudeen said.

When asked why Kodua has not yet been arrested, Nurudeen responded: “I am saying that investigations are underway and everything that is happening needs time to manifest that is why he has not been arrested yet.”

Allegations first emerged when the NPP was still in government, with insiders expressing concern about the deteriorated state Kodua left the Agency.

The late MP for Tamale Central, Ibrahim Murtala Mohammed, who once worked as deputy boss of the National Youth Employment Programme (NYEP), was among the first to raise the alarm.

Murtala, who later served as Minister for Environment, Science and Technology, had warned that Kodua would be made to face justice when the NDC regained political power.

He promised the party would exhume all the “skeletons” at YEA where Sammi Awuku served as board chairman and Francisca Oteng as a board member.

Sources say the investigation is not an isolated case. There are widespread claims that many CEOs in the previous government used funds allocated to their institutions either for personal enrichment or to purchase Treasury Bills, leading to delayed or non-payment of allowances and salaries.

This pattern, sources say, caused the nonpayment of allowances at the Nation Builders Corps (NABCO), Youth in Afforestation, and other state agencies.

Some of these individuals are already facing prosecution, but expectations are high that many more are under investigations and will be dragged to court once substantial evidence is gathered.

Last week, MP for Ofoase Ayirebi, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, claimed the NPP had intelligence that a colleague who served in the previous government is going to be arrested.

Speaking on Movement TV, a channel owned by jailed NPP Chairman Wontumi, the Ranking Member on the Economy and Development Committee said:

“They have told us that next week they will arrest one of the NPP MPs. Write it down today and when it happens, we will talk about it next week.”

Oppong Nkrumah framed the planned detention as part of a deliberate campaign by the state to intimidate political opponents a claim that has been dismissed by government sources.

The Kodua saga comes barely a week after the NPP’s Ashanti Regional Chairman, Bernard Antwi Boasiako, was sentenced to 20 years in prison for illegal mining.

The spectacle of a once-powerful party figure being led away in handcuffs has sent shockwaves through the NPP’s ranks, with many now fearing that the anti-corruption net is spreading wider.

Kodua’s visit to the Chief Imam takes on a new significance against this backdrop. While the official purpose was to seek prayers for his re-election bid, insiders suggest the embattled General Secretary was also seeking divine protection against what many see as his inevitable legal reckoning.

Sources familiar with the probe indicate investigators are examining:

· Procurement records from Kodua’s tenure at YEA
· Financial statements showing the movement of funds
· Allegations of misapplication of public funds
· Links to broader patterns of Treasury Bill purchases with state funds

For the NPP, Kodua’s potential arrest would be another devastating blow in a year that has already seen the imprisonment of one of its most powerful regional figures.

The party has framed the prosecutions as politically motivated but judicial sources insist the cases have proceeded on their merits.

If Kodua is charged, he will join a growing list of former NPP officials facing the courts, raising questions about governance, accountability and the cost of impunity.

As Kodua kneels before the Chief Imam, seeking prayers and divine protection, the question on everyone’s lips is simple:

Can prayers shield him from the long arm of the law?

The coming weeks will tell whether the General Secretary’s visit to the Chief Imam was indeed a routine political courtesy or a desperate last plea for help from a man who knows his time is running out.