Barker-Vormawor should substantiate his bribery allegations – Ayariga

Majority Leader in Parliament, Mahama Ayariga, has dismissed allegations that members of the Appointments Committee demanded bribes from ministerial nominees in exchange for their approval.

Responding to claims made by lawyer and activist Oliver Barker-Vormawor, the Bawku Central MP said the committee has nothing to hide and has invited him to substantiate his allegations.

He insisted that protecting one’s integrity is paramount, adding, “You will go very far if you are perceived to have integrity. Spending time to erase all doubts regarding your integrity is very important.”

Mr Ayariga also shared a personal experience to highlight how external actors sometimes attempt to influence ministerial confirmations.

He recalled an encounter with a businessperson who wanted to mobilize funds to “help” a sector minister get approved.

The Majority Leader said he was firm in rejecting the proposal.

“I told the person, I don’t think there’s a need for you and people in your sector to be mobilizing money to help your minister because we won’t even accept it. So that is out there—you get the situation, right? A certain perception that, oh, maybe somebody in the private sector spoke, and he heard something.

“But if Barker-Vormawor has anything about money being handed over to Appointments Committee members, he should just come forward, and we’ll look into it.”

He reiterated the need to maintain credibility and transparency in governance.

“I encourage it—not just this instance, but any other instance—because we want to build institutions that have integrity, are credible, and that Ghanaians have trust and confidence in,” he said.

Mr Ayariga also argued that, politically, there is no reason for ministerial nominees to pay bribes since the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) has a commanding majority in Parliament.

“NDC is in power. We have 184 members, and we have four other independent members. Two are actually NDC members, and the others have agreed to do business with us. We can approve anybody,” he stressed.

He further explained that unless a nominee faces a serious petition against their nomination, there is no obstacle to their approval.

Mahama Ayariga dismissed any suggestion that nominees were desperate for approval. “Most of them are sitting Members of Parliament.

“Constitutionally, at the barest minimum, they are qualified to be ministers of state. The vetting provides an opportunity to convince Ghanaians that they are fit for purpose.

“Otherwise, there’s no single nominee there who has any challenge being successfully processed by Parliament. So, there is no need to give anybody anything,” he said.

He expressed confidence that no wrongdoing had taken place and was skeptical that any credible evidence of bribery would emerge.