The National Coordinator of the District Road Improvement Programme (DRIP), Edwin Nii Lantey Vanderpuye, has urged former MASLOC Chief Executive Officer Sedina Tamakloe-Attionu to remain resilient and use her prison sentence as an opportunity to rebuild her life following her extradition from the United States to Ghana.
Speaking on Channel One TV’s Breakfast Daily, Mr Vanderpuye described her conviction as a setback rather than the end of her future, encouraging her to stay hopeful and emerge stronger from the experience.
“She has come and I wish her well. I can only say that she must take it on the shoulders. It’s just one step down. She shouldn’t lie there. She should get up and make her life. There are so many people who have gone through things and they’ve come out of it and become better persons,” he stated.
Mr Vanderpuye cited several prominent figures who overcame imprisonment and adversity to attain leadership positions, arguing that difficult moments do not define a person’s destiny.
“There’s a whole president of a country who has almost about 140-something convictions against him, yet he is a president. So she can also make it. Joseph came from prison to become a prime minister. Jerry Rawlings came from prison to become a president, a head of state. Nelson Mandela, Kwame Nkrumah — there are so many examples,” he said.
His remarks come after Sedina Tamakloe-Attionu was extradited from the United States to serve a 10-year prison sentence handed down by the Accra High Court.
The former MASLOC boss was convicted in absentia in 2024 on charges including causing financial loss to the state and stealing. The court found that actions taken during her tenure between 2013 and 2016 resulted in a loss of nearly GH¢90 million to the state.
Tamakloe-Attionu had been granted permission in 2021 to travel to the United States for medical treatment while her trial was ongoing. However, she failed to return to continue with court proceedings, leading to the completion of the trial in her absence.
Following her conviction, Ghanaian authorities initiated extradition proceedings in 2025. A US District Court in Nevada later reviewed the request and approved her extradition, paving the way for her return to Ghana to serve her sentence.
