Despite the bribery allegation hanging over the Minister of Energy, Boakye Agyarko, his nomination was approved based on merit, his accuser, Member of Parliament (MP) for Bawku Central, Mahama Ayariga has disclosed.
Mr Agyarko's approval has become a matter of controversy after Mr Ayariga went on radio to allege that he [Agyarko] had attempted to bribe the minority members of the Appointments Committee of Parliament in order to get his nomination passed after the minority indicated its displeasure with some statements he made during his vetting and attempted to disapprove him.
Testifying before the five-member parliamentary committee tasked with investigating the matter, Mr Ayariga stated that though they had received and returned same, the amount of GHC3,000 as the alleged bribe, they approved Mr Agyarko's nomination based on merit and nothing else.
"Our issues with Boakye Agyarko were about the number of Floating Storage Regasification Units that the National Democratic Congress (NDC) government bought and that the World Bank was breathing down the neck of the former President Mahama so after he provided sufficient evidence, he approved his nomination", he stated.
According to him, the alleged bribe did not have any influence on their decision as a committee.
"Agyarko withdrew some of the comments which the minority thought were in bad taste and in some cases he provided evidence", he maintained.