Former Public Relations Officer of the National Lottery Authority (NLA), Razak Kojo Opoku, has renewed his challenge to the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) and its investigative outlet, The Fourth Estate, to provide evidence supporting their claim that the NLA handed over a GH₵3 billion business to a private company.
According to him, nearly a year after the allegation was published, neither The Fourth Estate has the Executive Director of MFWA, Sulemana Braimah, presented facts, audited accounts or official financial records to substantiate the claim.
In a Facebook post, Mr. Opoku questioned the credibility of the report and accused the journalists involved of failing to adhere to basic standards of fact-checking and verification.
“Almost a year now, this dishonest dude has not been able, through facts, data and audited accounts of NLA, to substantiate this unfounded allegation that the NLA was generating GH₵3 billion business and gave it away to a private company,” he wrote.
He further alleged that some journalists were engaging in what he described as interest-driven investigative journalism aimed at damaging the reputation of indigenous Ghanaian businesses.
The controversy stems from a Fourth Estate publication which alleged that the NLA handed over a GH₵3 billion business to private gaming company, KGL and raised concerns about the Authority’s financial management.
Responding to the allegations in an earlier interview, Mr. Opoku described the publication as “factually incorrect and misleading,” insisting that the NLA had never generated GH₵3 billion annually and therefore could not have transferred such a business to any private entity.
“It is totally untrue and misleading for anyone to suggest that NLA gave away a GH₵3 billion business. The NLA does not even generate that amount annually,” he stated.
He argued that available financial records contradict the claim, noting that the Authority’s total revenue between 2017 and 2020 stood at approximately GH₵1.47 billion, with expenditure of about GH₵1.385 billion over the same period.
Mr. Opoku further stated that historical revenue figures from 2012 to 2016 ranged between GH₵242 million and GH₵402 million annually, stressing that the Authority had never generated as much as GH₵500 million in any single year during that period.
“When the figures show clearly that NLA has never generated GH₵3 billion, it beats logic for any media organisation to make such a claim,” he said.
Touching on the relationship between the NLA and KGL, Mr. Opoku maintained that the arrangement is a licensing agreement rather than a procurement contract.
According to him, KGL operates under the supervision of the NLA and has partnered the Authority for about seven years to help improve revenue generation.
“It is a licence agreement, not a procurement contract. KGL works under the regulatory supervision of NLA and has contributed to efforts aimed at enhancing revenue mobilisation,” he explained.
The dispute continues to generate debate over the accuracy of financial claims surrounding the NLA and the role of investigative journalism in scrutinising public institutions.
