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Accra, Ghana | AFP | A Ghanaian lawmaker was on Thursday found in contempt of parliament and ordered to apologise after claiming that a government minister bribed a committee to approve his appointment.
National Democratic Congress (NDC) party MP Mahama Ayariga accused Energy Minister Boakye Agyarko of paying members of the panel 3,000 cedi (about $700, 650 euros) each to rubber stamp his nomination.
Agyarko denied the allegation but an investigation was ordered. Lawmakers were told there was no evidence to support the claim.
Ayariga was found in contempt of parliament and ordered to “render an unqualified apology to the House, purging himself of contempt”.
he MP then apologised.
New Patriotic Party (NPP) leader Nana Akufo-Addo became Ghana’s President in January, after beating NDC leader John Dramani Mahama in elections the previous month.
The bribery allegations came after a campaign promise by Akufo-Addo to fight corruption.
He promised to appoint an independent prosecutor to deal specifically with claims of graft, in order to avoid the perception of investigations being used as a political witch-hunt.
