The National Coordinator of the District Road Improvement Programme (DRIP), Nii Lantey Vanderpuye, has urged former MASLOC Chief Executive Officer Sedina Tamakloe-Attionu to remain strong and accept her prison sentence as part of life, following her extradition from the United States to Ghana.
Speaking on Channel One TV’s Breakfast Daily on Thursday, June 11, the former Odododiodoo MP said Sedina Tamakloe’s situation should be seen as a setback rather than the end of her life, encouraging her to rebuild herself while serving her sentence.
“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 said.
Vanderpuye referenced several historical and global figures who overcame difficult circumstances, including imprisonment, to achieve leadership roles, stressing that personal setbacks do not define one’s future.
“There’s a whole president of a country who has almost about 140 something convictions against him. You understand? But he’s a president of a country. 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, so many examples,” he added.
His comments follow Sedina Tamakloe’s return to Ghana after she was extradited from the United States to serve a 10-year prison sentence imposed by the Accra High Court.
She was convicted in 2024 in absentia on multiple charges, including causing financial loss to the state and stealing. The court held that her actions during her tenure as Chief Executive of MASLOC between 2013 and 2016 resulted in a loss of nearly GH¢90 million to the state.
She 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 Ghana to continue with proceedings, prompting the court to complete the trial in her absence.
Following her conviction, Ghanaian authorities initiated extradition proceedings in 2025, formally requesting her return from the United States.
The request was reviewed by a US District Court in Nevada, which after examining legal documents submitted by Ghanaian authorities, certified the extradition, clearing the way for her transfer to Ghana to serve her sentence.
