The Majority Leader in Parliament, Mahama Ayariga, has revealed that a businessman recently attempted to mobilize funds to support a ministerial nominee’s approval process, despite there being no requirement for such payments.
Speaking in an interview on Tuesday, January 28, the Bawku Central MP narrated the encounter, emphasizing that the Appointments Committee does not demand money from nominees. He challenged anyone with evidence of bribery to come forward.
“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 said, ‘Has the sector minister asked you to come and help him?’ He said, ‘No, no, we just want to come together and help him,’” Ayariga disclosed.
According to him, he immediately shut down the idea, warning the individual that such mobilization was unnecessary and unacceptable.
His revelation comes amid allegations by lawyer and activist Oliver Barker-Vormawor, who has claimed that ministerial nominees were being asked to pay bribes in exchange for parliamentary approval.
Ayariga dismissed these allegations and called on Barker-Vormawor to provide evidence.
“I had wind of what he said, and then the chairman reached out. I said, ‘Call him, let him come. And if he has anything and he can substantiate it, we need to deal with it openly and transparently,’” he stated.
The former Sports Minister stressed that the Appointments Committee operates with integrity and that no nominee needs to pay money to secure approval.
“NDC is in power. We have 184 members, and then we have four other independent members. Two are actually NDC members. The others are not originally NDC but have agreed to do business with NDC. We can approve anybody. So no nominee needs to give anybody any money, because as a party, you will be whipped in line to vote according to the party’s interest,” he explained.
Ayariga further clarified that unless a nominee has a serious issue raised through a petition, they are almost certain to be approved.
“Unless there’s something fundamentally wrong with you, and in that instance, if it’s revealed through a petition or something of that sort, we will go back to His Excellency. ‘Please, Excellency, we know your standards. This guy doesn’t meet your standards. Can you withdraw the nomination?’ Otherwise, most of them are sitting MPs, and constitutionally, at the barest minimum, they are qualified to be ministers of state,” he said.
Reaffirming his stance on transparency, Mahama Ayariga encouraged anyone with credible evidence of wrongdoing to present it.
“If he has anything about some money being handed over to Appointments Committee members, he should just come, and then we’ll look into it. And I encourage it—not just this instance, but any other instance—because we want to build institutions that have integrity, that are credible, and that Ghanaians have trust and confidence in,” he emphasized.
While he remained skeptical about the allegations, Ayariga welcomed any investigation into the matter.
“I have not seen it. So I’ll be surprised if he comes up with anything tomorrow. I’ll be surprised. But we encourage every other person to come forward if they have evidence,” he concluded.
The unfolding saga has heightened public scrutiny over the transparency of the vetting process, leaving many eager to see whether Barker-Vormawor will produce the evidence he claims to have.
