How Abdul Wahab’s Network Bled Buffer Stock Dry
Front Desk
The Attorney-General’s office has intensified its pursuit of corruption within Ghana’s public institutions, revealing a sprawling criminal network at the National Food and Buffer Stock Company (NAFCO) that allegedly siphoned off tens of millions of cedis between 2017 and 2024. The scandal, codenamed “Rumble in the Jungle,” implicates former CEO Hanan Abdul Wahab, his wife Faiza Seidu, and a cadre of senior officials.
Attorney-General Dr Dominic Akuritinga Ayine, speaking in Accra, described the scheme as one of the most egregious examples of public sector corruption in recent memory. While food suppliers went unpaid and schoolchildren were denied meals under the national feeding programme, senior officials at Buffer Stock were allegedly diverting funds into private accounts and shell companies.
The investigation, led by the Economic and Organized Crime Office (EOCO), began in March 2025 with the arrest of Kwabena Adu Boahen and his wife. However, subsequent intelligence pointed to a more extensive operation orchestrated by Abdul Wahab. EOCO’s findings suggest that GHS 78.2 million was transferred from Buffer Stock accounts to private entities, with only GHS 27.3 million backed by evidence of actual food deliveries.
The remaining GHS 50.8 million, according to EOCO, was laundered through a network of companies linked to Abdul Wahab and his wife, including Al Udeba Enterprise, Energy Partners, Alcani Enterprise, Fahawza Ventures, and Sortina Enterprise. The latter, owned by northern sector manager James Atiaku, received the bulk of the transfers and acted as a conduit for re-routing funds to other entities.
Under interrogation, Atiaku admitted that many of the payments were not tied to genuine supplies and that he received direct instructions from Abdul Wahab on how to move the funds. Bank records show that Sortina transferred over GHS 60 million to Abdul Wahab, nearly GHS 24 million to Alcani Enterprise, and hundreds of thousands to other affiliated companies.
The Attorney-General also disclosed that Energy Partners, co-owned by Abdul Wahab and Buffer Stock’s head of corporate affairs Emmanuel Atta, received GHS 251,050 despite not being a registered service provider. EOCO’s analysis revealed that the group used the pretext of school food supply contracts to mask the transfers.
Ayine emphasized that the laundering operation was sophisticated, involving multiple layers of ownership and re-registration of assets to obscure the trail. He noted that the couple and their companies became the largest depositors at Republic Bank’s Labone branch during the period under review.
Despite the scale of the scandal, Ayine cautioned against public impatience, stressing the need for airtight prosecutions. “Accountability takes time,” he said. “If we rush, defense lawyers will exploit procedural gaps, and the same public demanding swift justice will accuse us of incompetence.”
The case is now being prepared for prosecution, with EOCO continuing to trace additional transfer pathways estimated to exceed GHS 40 million. The Attorney-General reaffirmed the government’s commitment to evidence-based anti-corruption enforcement, describing the Buffer Stock case as a test of institutional resolve.
Whether the courts will deliver convictions remains to be seen, but the revelations have already cast a long shadow over public procurement systems and the integrity of its food security programmes.