The Chairman of the Appointments Committee of Parliament, Mr Joe Osei-Owusu has denied claims that he facilitated monies alleged to have been given to minority members of parliament on the appointment committee.
“That allegation is false. He knows he is lying, he is lying and he knows that” he said of Mahama Ayariga who had alleged on an Accra-based Radio Gold that Energy Minister-designate, Mr Boakye Agyarko had intended to bribe members of the minority members on the appointment Committee and that he gave them GHC30, 000 each which they duly rejected.
“We never had any discussions on money, I have never done and I can challenge him” Mr Osei-Owusu said.
Mr Osei-Owusu who spoke on Joy FM’s news analysis programme, Newsfile on Saturday morning stated he had never held any such discussions pertaining to disbursement of sitting allowances and that only the clerk of the house had the right to do so.
“I don’t pay allowances as a chairman, I raise a memo….money has never been disbursed by the chairman. It’s always the clerk”.
When the host Samson Lardi Ayenini prompted him that the Member of Parliament for Asawase, Alhaji Mohammed Mubarak Muntaka was alleged to be the conduit through which he Osei-Owusu gave the monies to the parliamentarians, he stated:
“If he said that then he is lying. If Muntaka said it, he is lying, I’ve never spoken to Muntaka, I have never given any money to Muntaka, never received any money from Agyarko and given it to Muntaka.”
In a rather twist of events, the Minority Chief Whip, Alhaji Muntaka Mubarak also isolated himself from the accusations that monies was exchanged through him.
In another telephone interview on the same programme to ascertain claims that he passed on monies meant to bribe minority members on the appointment committee, he refuted the allegations and stated “I don’t know where Ayariga is having this information.”
“I’m a Muslim and Ayariga is a Muslim. I want us swearing by Allah who created him and I. I have never given Ayariga anything and said it was coming from Osei-Owusu. ”
“He has never discussed any issue, he has never given me any money to give to Ayariga,” he said.
“I have never given Ayariga any money saying that it was coming from the chairman and that’s all I have to say. We are in leadership and I think the leadership will have to take it up.”
“We have had several meetings and we ourselves have agreed in principle that we are not going to take a dime from anybody”, he added.
