The Member of Parliament for Bawku Central, Mahama Ayariga, says he is unsure whether his apology in the bribery scandal in parliament has accepted by the Speaker of parliament or not.
“I was bound by a decision of the House to apologize and I apologized, i don’t know whether the Speaker accepted the apology or not.
I was bound by a decision-I said, “If you say I should apologize, I apologize, that is on public records.
If an apology is induced by a judgment of a court, you can do it, whether deep inside you, you agree or not.” he said in an interview on Joy FM’s News File Saturday.
Ayariga following the release of the Joe Ghartey report has questioned the manner in which the evidence was evaluated in the process of investigations, saying criminal standards were used and that ought not to have been the case.
According to him, he wasn’t given the opportunity to be cross-examined.
He was compelled by the committee’s report to render an unqualified apology to purge himself of contempt, with ruling on the matter deferred to a later date.
But Mr. Ayariga, who appeared dissatisfied with the work of the committee, reluctantly rendered the apology, saying “Mr. Speaker, if you say I should apologize, I have apologized.”
In a reaction Saturday, Ayariga said he will hold himself in abeyance pending the ruling of the Speaker on the matter.
“When you go before a lower court, and it takes a decision, if the judge evaluates the evidence and says I’ve come to this conclusion but says I will determine the ruling next week, so come next week and come and hear the sentence, you have to wait next week before you decide whether you have to appeal or not to appeal.
So while Speaker did not conclude that day but said he will rule on it, I have to wait for the Speaker’s ruling and then the issue of whether the legal challenge to the process or some of the processes will be effected, will then be decided on.
So at this stage strictly speaking we all have to wait.
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