Parliament has denied the allegation that Energy Minister-designate Boakye Agyarko attempted bribing members of the Appointments Committee to approve his nomination after the committee withheld his approval.
A member of the Committee, Mahama Ayariga, had alleged Mr Agyarko, through the chairman of the committee, Joe Osei Owusu, gave members GHS3000 each, but was rejected by the Mminority caucus – an allegation Mr Osei Owusu and Mr Agyarko have both denied.
Parliament has denied the allegation describing it as “frivolous”.
A statement signed by the acting Director of Public Affairs, Kate Addo, said: “Parliament has noted with grave concern, allegations that the leadership and members of the Appointments Committee have been bribed by some of the president’s nominees to facilitate the recommendation of approval of their nomination as ministers to the House.
“Parliament will like to state categorically and without any equivocation that these allegations are frivolous and vexatious, and should be discarded.”
The statement added: “Parliament attaches a lot of importance to its constitutional duties and abhors practices that will not only affect its work but also bring the institution into disrepute. Therefore, extreme care is taken and thorough background checks are made before chairpersons to the various committees are appointed. This is to ensure that the works they oversee are meticulously carried out. Parliament will, therefore, like to state that no such event has taken place and anybody having any information to the contrary must resort to the laws of the land and take the appropriate action for redress.”
Source: Ghana/AccraFM.com
