The Majority Leader in Parliament has expressed scepticism over claims made by lawyer and activist that members of Parliament’s Appointments Committee demanded money from ministerial nominees in exchange for their approval.

Speaking on Joy Nes' PM Express on Tuesday, January 28, Mahama Ayariga, strongly refuted the allegations and called on Oliver Barker-Vormawor to substantiate his claims.

“The issue of protecting your integrity is sometimes even more important than the substance of what you do because you will go very far if you are perceived to have integrity,” the Bawku Central MP stated.

“I had wind of what he said, and the chairman reached out. I said, call him—let him come. If he has anything and can substantiate it, we need to deal with it openly and transparently.”

Mr Ayariga emphasised the need for concrete evidence and reiterated his own lack of awareness of any such activities within the Appointments Committee.

“You spent a few days on the committee. What personal knowledge or otherwise do you have to share on these claims being made, that some monies were paid to members of the committee to approve some of the nominees? I am unaware of any such thing. That’s why I think he should come. Maybe he has something because, in this country, all sorts of things happen.”

He shared an anecdote about encountering someone in the private sector who assumed they needed to “help” their sector minister get approved.

“I actually met somebody who operates in a sector, and the person said, ‘Oh, our minister is being considered this week, so we want to go and help him.’ And I asked, ‘Has your sector minister asked you to come and help him?’ They said no but insisted on mobilizing resources. I told them clearly, ‘There is no need for you to do this. None of the nominees has a problem.’”

Mr Ayariga stressed that such perceptions of bribery or undue influence undermine the integrity of the Appointments Committee and must be addressed head-on.

“If he [Barker-Vormawor] has anything about money being handed over to members of the Appointments Committee, he should just come, and we’ll look into it. I encourage it, not just in this instance but in any other instance. We want to build institutions that have integrity, are credible, and that Ghanaians have trust and confidence in.”

The Majority Leader further questioned the motivation behind such allegations, particularly given the current parliamentary dynamics.

“NDC is in power. We have 184 members, plus four independent members—two of whom are originally NDC members and the other two aligned with us. We can approve anybody. No nominee needs to give anybody money because as a party, you will be whipped in line to vote according to the party’s interest.”

He explained that if there were any significant issues with a nominee, they would be addressed through formal petitions or by referring the matter back to the President.

“If it’s revealed through a petition or something that there’s something fundamentally wrong with a nominee, we’ll go back to His Excellency and say, ‘Please, Excellency, we know your standards. This person doesn’t meet them.

"Can you withdraw the nomination?’ Otherwise, most of the nominees are sitting members of Parliament, and constitutionally, they are already qualified to be ministers of state.”

Ayariga concluded by reiterating his belief that the claims lack merit.

“You do not need to give anybody anything. I have not seen it. So, I’ll be surprised if he comes up with anything tomorrow. I’ll be surprised. But I encourage every other person who has evidence to come forward.”