Parliament’s Appointment’s Committee will decide in two weeks whether President Mills’ nominee for Deputy Trade Minister designate, Mahama Ayariga, will be approved. The committee has deferred the decision to undertake more meticulous investigations into allegations that Mr. Ayariga abused his office to acquire tractors meant for farmers. The committee's decision comes after the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) cleared him of any wrongdoing in the acquisition of the tractors. CHRAJ Commissioner Emile Short said the commission found no evidence to support allegations that the outgoing presidential spokesperson underpaid for the tractors. At the Speaker’s Conference Room on Thursday, Mr Ayariga defended his acquisition of the tractors and said they were for the benefit of his constituents. Meanwhile Minority Leader, Osei-Kyei-Mensah Bonsu said, even though the report from CHRAJ cleared Mr. Ayariga of any wrongdoing, the nominee’s answers at a three-hour vetting failed to convince. The Minority Leader said Mr Ayariga’s vetting was not based on the CHRAJ verdict. “The report came to us very late yesterday and we couldn’t have time to peruse the documents,” he said. Asked whether other interest groups had petitioned the committee on the nominee, Mr Bonsu said “there have been publications on these acquisitions earlier on in various media and so we took all those into consideration.” Touching on the validity of the CHRAJ report which exonerates Mr Ayariga, the Minority Leader insisted the commission could have missed an essential document relating to the matter. "Whereas one could be persuaded by the report, one could also go behind the report. We may have to consider the fact that CHRAJ itself might not have had the full complement of facts relating to the matter before it. “It’s one of the reasons why we would want to find a way to engage CHRAJ itself in this for us to be very clear in our minds what process went on and so forth without any malice,” Mr Bonsu indicated. The committee is expected to present a draft report on the other nominees vetted, including outgoing Majority Leader Alban Bagbin, for consideration by the House. Source: Joy News/Myjoyonline.com/Ghana