The National Organizer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Henry Nana Boakye, has criticized the West African Media Foundation (WAMF) and its investigative platform, The Fourth Estate, accusing them of engaging in fear and panic journalism over their recent exposé on alleged ghost names at the National Service Authority (NSA).

Speaking on the issue, Mr. Boakye described the report as "lazy work", arguing that the Fourth Estate failed to conduct due diligence on the data they obtained from the NSA.

According to him, a simple verification process could have yielded more accurate and detailed findings rather than what he described as a misleading exposé.

“The NSA recruits service personnel annually from four categories: students from public and private universities, polytechnics (now technical universities), nurses, and teachers,” he explained.

He noted that some students apply for service but do not show up for orientation, and it would be misleading to classify those absentees as ghost names without proper verification.

Mr. Boakye further emphasized that the NSA operates a biometric system where all applicants undergo verification through the GIFMIS (Government Integrated Financial Management Information System) platform.

He maintained that cases of applicants failing to report for service could be easily cross-checked using student index numbers.

He concluded by urging The Fourth Estate to adopt a more rigorous and fact-based approach to investigative journalism, rather than publishing reports that, in his view, lack proper verification and create unnecessary panic.

He spoke in an interview with Accra-based Kessben FM on Tuesday, February 18, 2025.