Philip Akpeena Assibit, Managing Consultant of Goodwill International Group (GIG), who is standing trial for the Ghana Youth Employment and Entrepreneurial Development Agency (GYEEDA) scandal, has told the court that he was only paid for the work he did and nothing else.
According to him, his company was paid for work done based on the contract it (GIG) had with the National Youth Employment Programme (NYEP), which was signed by the former Minister of Youth and Sports, Kofi Humado.
Mr. Assibit is before the court for putting in false claims that he had secured $65 million World Bank funding for the creation of one million jobs for the youth which led government to part with GH¢4.1 million.
He is in the dock with the former National Coordinator of GYEEDA, who is also a former National Democratic Congress (NDC) Member of Parliament (MP) (MP) for Chiana Paga, Abuga Pele, for the various roles they allegedly played in the GYEEDA scam.
The Attorney General’s (AG’s) Department claims that the accused persons caused huge financial loss to the state.
Mr. Assibit is under cross examination at the Accra High Court (Financial Division).
He confirmed that the initial letter from Abuga Pele did not warrant any payment to his company, but that the payments were made based on work they undertook as part of the contract Kofi Humado signed with his company GIG.
He argued that “if there wasn’t a complete and signed agreement, the auditor, minister and his chief director wouldn’t have approved payment.”
Professional training
Asked by the prosecution whether he had any professional training as a Management Consultant, he answered in the affirmative.
He said after a BSc in Administration (Accounting Option) from the University of Ghana, he also had several graduate and professional training.
The accused said he earned a doctorate degree in international finance, CCA and CFM, among others.
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