The Headmistress of Islamic Girls Senior High School, Safia Salifu, has revealed to the Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) that a former employee resorted to selling his cow to refund a wrongfully paid salary after she sought police intervention.
The revelation came during a PAC hearing as committee members questioned school officials regarding steps taken to retrieve unearned salaries paid to two former staff members.
According to Salifu, the first case involved Eric Nyarko, a former kitchen staff member who continued to receive his salary after resigning from the school.
The headmistress explained that despite the school’s efforts to place an embargo on Nyarko’s bank account, the bank allegedly failed to act in time, allowing the unearned funds to go through.
When contacted by the school, Nyarko reportedly refused to refund the money.
He argued that he was withholding the funds because the government owed him five years of salary arrears from his early years of service.
Salifu countered his stance before the committee, stating that there are established legal procedures for addressing salary grievances and that the former employee could not legally keep money he was not entitled to.
“I subsequently contacted the police commander to intervene in the matter,” Salifu testified, adding that the intervention successfully led to the recovery of the money after Nyarko sold his cow to settle the debt.
The headmistress also briefed the committee on a second case involving Emmanuel Obiri, a former teacher who received an unearned salary for September after leaving the school.
Salifu explained that Obiri had remained around the school after vacations to complete academic reports and mark examination scripts.
Because he worked up to August 24 and submitted his reports in September, management validated his salary for that period under the impression that he was still active.
However, when the school reopened in October, Obiri failed to report for duty, and subsequent checks revealed he had permanently left the institution.
After instructing the school accountant to track him down, Salifu managed to establish contact with Obiri through his father-in-law. Although the former teacher initially claimed he could not access the funds because they were in an overseas account, Salifu told the committee she successfully retrieved the money through her own “efforts and persistence.”
The dramatic testimony drew lively reactions from committee members and observers alike.
During the proceedings, Salifu revealed that her strict leadership style had earned her the nickname “Woman King” among her students.
The hearing concluded with a broader policy discussion among committee members regarding whether public sector employees who receive unearned salaries should be required to refund the gross amount or only the net salary received after tax deductions.