The Ghana Hajj Board has been slapped with a whopping US$500,000 Judgment Debt.
This came to light in a video making rounds on social media, purporting to have been the voice of the beneficiary of the Judgment Debt, one Alhaji Sumai’la Wal-Giwa, a businessman in an interview on Kumasi base Zuria Fm Zongo Connect Show.
Alhaji Sumai’la in the viral video revealed that, he paid an amount of US$155,000 to the Ghana Hajj Board bank account through one of the accredited Hajj Agent, Al-Balad Travel and Tour, amid the time of Alhaji Alhassan Bene as the Ghana Hajj Board Chairman in 2009.
Adding that, the bank called to verify if the cheque of US$155,000 was from him which he confirmed.
According to Alhaji Sumai’la, the money was payment for 50 prospective pilgrims to be processed to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to perform Hajj in 2009.
However, the Ghana Hajj Board under Alhaji Alhassan Bene failed to process and airlift the 50 prospective pilgrims to Hajj untill he (Alhaji Bene) was replaced with Alhaji Abdul Rauf Tanko in 2013 who also failed to send the 50 prospective pilgrims to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Alhaji Wal-Giwa further disclosed that, upon the change of government in 2017, a meeting was held at the Jubilee House between himself and his lawyers, Sheikh I.C Quaye and the then Deputy Chief of Staff, Hon. Abu Jinapor to ascertain whether to refund the amount or airlift the 50 prospective pilgrims, yielded no results.
He opined, after the meeting Sheikh I.C Quaye, pretended there had never been a meeting regarding the payment of the US$ 155, 000.
This according to Alhaji Wal-Giwa, compelled him to take a legal action against the Ghana Hajj Board which resulted in the Board having the judgment debt to be paid to him with interest.
Alhaji Sumai’la Abass Wal-Giwa in the viral video, expounded that Alhaji Farouk Hamza who is the director of finance and administration at the pilgrims affairs office of Ghana attempted to meet him after the award of the judgement debt by the Supreme Court to further deliberate on how the Board will solve the Issue amicably by airlifting the 50 prospective pilgrims to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to avoid paying the US$ 500, 000, judgment debt which he refused.
He stated emphatically that, the former Hajj Board Chairman Hon. Abdul Rauf Tanko and the current Chairman Sheikh I.C Quaye were the cause of the mess that accumulated to the US$500,000 judgment debt.
Responding to the issue on same Zuria Fm, the former Ghana Hajj Board Chairman, Hon. Abdul Rauf Tanko stated that there is no proof or letter that indicated that his predecessor took US$155,000 from Alhaji Sumai’la Abass Wal-Giwa for 50 prospective pilgrims to be airlifted to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Hon. Abdul Rauf Tanko unfolded that, it was at a meeting between himself, Alhaji Alhassan Bene and one Alhaji Arif, a former CEO of Ghana Petroleum Authority at the Golden Tulip Hotel in Accra that he was verbally inform about the debt.
This, he said did not pushed him to pay for the money as he may not be able to account for in the near future.
Meanwhile, social media users have described the cause of the judgment debt as sheer negligence on the part of the current Hajj Board Chairman Sheikh I.C Quaye.
By: Nana Araba Bedu-Addo