“Wo nyi m’ayɛ a, mɛnsɛi me din!!” • Ursula Owusu Fires at Mahama Over SIM Claims

Former Minister for Communications and Digitalisation, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, has strongly rejected claims made by John Dramani Mahama about the SIM registration exercise, describing them as false and misleading.

In a rebuttal statement dated March 20, 2026, Mrs. Owusu-Ekuful said she felt compelled to respond after the President repeated what she called “falsehoods” during comments made in the Bono Region. She noted that although she had avoided public commentary on the communications sector since leaving office, the situation required her to set the record straight.

“I have deliberately refrained from commenting on events in the communications sector since I left office a little over a year ago but am compelled to set the records straight when the President of the Republic himself repeats falsehoods,” she stated.

Mrs. Owusu-Ekuful explained that the 2022-2023 SIM registration exercise became necessary because the earlier registration conducted between 2010 and 2011 lacked proper verification systems. According to her, the old system did not rely on a reliable national identification database, making it difficult to confirm the accuracy of registered SIM card details.

She said although there were attempts to verify some registrations through the Passport Office at the time, the process was manual and limited in scope.

“Honestly, who could confidently say whether those manual verifications were right or wrong? That is not the kind of credible system a country should rely on,” she added.

To address these weaknesses, she said her administration introduced a structured and legally compliant system that linked SIM cards to the Ghana Card issued by the National Identification Authority. She explained that the aim was to ensure that every SIM card in use could be traced to a verified national identity.

She outlined that the registration process had two stages. The first stage involved users submitting their Ghana Card details through a shortcode, which were then verified with the National Identification Authority. The second stage required biometric data capture, including facial and fingerprint registration.

“EVERY ACTIVE SIM CARD BEING USED TODAY ON ANY MOBILE NETWORK IS THEREFORE LINKED TO A GHANA CARD, AND THAT IS AN INCONTROVERTIBLE FACT,” she stated.

Addressing claims of conflict between institutions, Mrs. Owusu-Ekuful denied that personal disagreements affected the process. She clarified that her relationship with the head of the National Identification Authority remained professional, despite differences in opinion.

She, however, pointed out that the Authority did not allow full biometric verification through its database at the second stage of the process. Despite this challenge, she said the exercise successfully produced a comprehensive database of SIM cards in Ghana.

She disclosed that nearly 30 million SIM cards were registered during the exercise and that the database is securely hosted by the National Information Technology Agency at the National Data Centre.

Mrs. Owusu-Ekuful also revealed that an audit conducted in 2025 showed that more than 80 percent of the facial biometric data collected matched records in the National Identification Authority’s database.

She argued that this outcome proves the exercise was effective.

“So the question is simple: if they say the previous exercise had no value or no data, then where did the 80% verification result come from? What data did they use for that audit?” she questioned.

She further described as “contradictory” and “dishonest” any attempt to dismiss the exercise while relying on its data.

The former minister also rejected claims that the current government has introduced new methods for SIM registration. She said features such as shortcode registration, mobile applications, and biometric verification were already part of the system before her administration left office.

“So when this government comes and presents the same approach as though it is something brand new, that is simply not true,” she said.

Mrs. Owusu-Ekuful emphasized that the process was continuously improved through monitoring and feedback. She added that measures were introduced to make registration easier for users, including the development of a self-registration app.

She highlighted that one of the major achievements of the exercise was encouraging many Ghanaians to register for the Ghana Card, thereby strengthening the country’s national identification system.

The former minister also pointed to the role of deadlines in driving participation, noting that although extensions were granted when necessary, the timelines helped ensure compliance.

She questioned whether the current government would avoid using deadlines, adding that doing so would mean departing from a strategy they had previously criticised.

Mrs. Owusu-Ekuful accused some groups of deliberately undermining both the Ghana Card and SIM registration exercises, suggesting that these actions may explain current efforts to discredit the process.

She concluded by urging the government to acknowledge the progress made and build on it rather than dismissing it for political reasons.

“Governance is a continuum. If something has been started and useful progress has been made, the duty of the next government is to build on it, improve it, and be honest about it,” she said.

She added, “You cannot condemn a process in the morning, copy it in the afternoon, and come back in the evening to claim you have invented something new.”

Mrs. Owusu-Ekuful maintained that although the exercise was not perfect, it laid a strong foundation for a credible SIM registration system in Ghana.

“The Ghanaian people deserve honesty. They deserve consistency. And they deserve leaders who will build on progress made by their predecessors instead of erasing it and lying about it for cheap politics,” she said.

She ended her statement with the phrase, “Wo nyi m’ayɛ a, mɛnsɛi me din!!” meaning “if you don’t acknowledge my work, I won’t tarnish my name”.