Barker-Vormawor apologises for bribery allegation against Appointments Committee

A social activist, Oliver Barker-Vormawor, has apologised to the Appointments Committee of Parliament for allegations he made on social media.

He clarified that his post was not intended to disparage the 11-member committee or suggest that its members received or demanded bribes.

Mr Barker-Vormawor's original post, made on January 24, 2025, on Facebook and X (formerly Twitter), read: "So all the monies the ministerial appointees are being asked to pay to the Appointments Committee just to get approved, are those ones not affected by ORAL? Strange Republic."

He, however, denied being the author of another post sourced from the NPP Project Bureau and published on a Ghana Today portal, describing such a post as “fake” and dissociated himself from it.

Following his post, the Chairman of the committee, Bernard Ahiafor, summoned him to appear before the committee to provide evidence to substantiate his statement.

That was after the Minority Whip, Frank Annoh-Dompreh, during the vetting of the Minister designate for Defence, Dr Edward Omane Boamah, had expressed displeasure at how the post could hurt the image of Parliament.

He, therefore, urged the chairman of the committee to invite Mr Barker-Vormawor to clarify why he put out such a damaging post.

But appearing before the Appointments Committee to substantiate his statement yesterday, Mr Barker-Vormawor said at no point was his statement intended to disparage the committee and “for those reasons, I apologise”.

“Mr Chair, the reason why I have left the post on and not deleted it, in fact, I did contemplate it, was because I saw that the words had been twisted and that it became imperative on me that I maintain the post in its original form that if I were questioned on it reference can be made to be able to verify it.

“This was the reason why it was not deleted,” he said when he appeared before the committee with his counsel, Nana Ato Dadzie. 

Statement misconstrued

Soon after expressing his remorse for the post he claimed to have authored, the Chairman of the committee asked him if he would pull it down now the matter had been resolved, and Mr Barker-Vormawor responded: “Mr Chair, I am happy to do so”.

“As the conversation has indicated and the clarity has been brought to it, I am happy to,” he said.

Earlier his counsel, Nana Ato Dadzie, told the committee members that his client’s statement, which he made as a citizen under the Whistle Blower’s Act to expose a wrong in society by going public, had been misconstrued.

“If in the process of articulating that wrong and there is an assumption that he erred, he is sincerely ready to apologise,” he said.

Urging the committee members to allow Mr Barker-Vormawor to withdraw and apologise, Mr Dadzie said his client exercised his citizenship right to share the post, which was never intended to damage the reputation of the committee members.

“The point of that statement is that it was not directed at the Appointments Committee in any way. It was only intended to expose certain matters that had come to his notice—acts that some people were apparently engaging in, which may not enhance transparency,” Nana Ato Dadzie explained.  

He further argued that the post carried a double meaning and should not be seen as an attack on the committee’s integrity.  

Intervening, the Ranking Member of the committee, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, advised Mr Barker-Vormawor that if he followed through with what he had promised— doing a disclaimer, it would “help all of us.”

The chair asked him to come out with a disclaimer of what he claimed he was not responsible for and provide copies of the same on various social media platforms to the committee.