[ 2017-02-15 ]

MPs bribery scandal: I don't trust Ayariga enough to discuss anything with him –
Chairman of Parliament’s Appointment Committee,
Joe Osei-Owusu said he did not have any
interactions with Bawku Central MP, Mahama Ayariga
after he leveled bribery allegations against him
and Minority Chief Whip, Muntaka Mubarak.

According to him, he didn’t think it was prudent
to speak to the MP who is also a member of the
Appointment Committee.

“I wouldn’t trust him to do such a thing [talk
to him] after he had made those allegations and
had gone on air to repeat them.

“I think it would be suicidal to get into any
one-on-one meeting with him. It would be very
dangerous,” he said.


Mr Osei-Owusu is the first witness to be called
after the Speaker of Parliament constituted a
Committee to investigate an alleged bribery
allegation that hit the House last month during
the vetting of Energy Minister Boakye Agyarko.


The Chairman who doubles as first deputy speaker
in Parliament is alleged to have given some monies
to Minority Chief Whip Muntaka Mubarak to be
distributed to minority members of the committee.


The said money was to influence a decision on the
energy minister nominee. But Mr Osei-Owusu has
denied the allegations.


At the first hearing of the investigative
committee on Wednesday, the Appointment Committee
Chairman said he never discussed the issue with Mr
Ayariga.


For him, once the committee was set to investigate
the issue, he thought he would let the Committee
handle it.


He, however, indicated that he raised the issue at
a conclave meeting “where the leadership was for
the matter to be resolved before we returned to
the chamber.”


Until that was done, Mr Osei-Owusu said they sat
on the Appointment Committee together, but had no
discussions on the allegation.


He also said his intention was to proceed to
court, and any discussions with the member
would have been inappropriate.
But Mr Osei-Owusu said the Minority Chief Whip
came and apologized to him for being dragged into
the issue.


“The evening that the information came to us, I
did not confront Hon. Muntaka, however, the
following morning when Joy Fm called me and I
spoke to the matter, they called hon. Muntaka who
also spoke on the issue…


“At lunch time, he came to me and said sorry,
‘I think you don’t deserve this’…and
apologised that I had been brought into the centre
of this” he reported Muntaka as saying.

Source - Myjoyonline.com

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