Bekwai Youth Angry Over Ayariga’s Allegation … Call For Parliamentary Sanctions Against Bawku Central MP

From Sebastian R. Freiku, Bekwai The Concerned Youth of Bekwai has called on Parliament to sanction the Member of Parliament (MP) for Bawku Central, Mahama Ayariga, for making fallacious bribery allegations against the MP for Bekwai, Joseph  Osei-Owusu, who is also the first Deputy Speaker of the 7th Parliament of the 4th Republic and Chairman […]

The post Bekwai Youth Angry Over Ayariga’s Allegation … Call For Parliamentary Sanctions Against Bawku Central MP appeared first on The Chronicle - Ghana News.

From Sebastian R. Freiku, Bekwai

The Concerned Youth of Bekwai has called on Parliament to sanction the Member of Parliament (MP) for Bawku Central, Mahama Ayariga, for making fallacious bribery allegations against the MP for Bekwai, Joseph  Osei-Owusu, who is also the first Deputy Speaker of the 7th Parliament of the 4th Republic and Chairman of the Appointments Committee of Parliament (ACP).

Mahama Ayariga has alleged that the Energy Minister, Mr. Boakye Agyarko, attempted to bribe the minority members of the Appointments Committee.
The MP claims the Minority Chief Whip, Mohammed Mubarak Muntaka, who is also the Asawase legislator, had told the minority that then nominee, Mr. Boakye Agyarko, had, through Joseph Osei-Owusu, also known as Joe Wise, gave them (each minority member on the committee about GH¢3,000 each, out of a total GH¢100,000, allegedly gifted to the vetting committee, to influence his (Boakye Agyarko’s) nomination.
According to the First Deputy Speaker and Chairman of the Appointments Committee, Mahama Ayariga had made up the allegation to “level the playing field”, and that the Bawku MP had withdrawn the bribery allegation and apologised.

But Ayariga insists he stands by the allegation, and that he had not withdrawn the bribery allegation against Boakye Agyarko. He says the minority members actually received some sums of money from the leadership, which came from the then nominee.
The MP for Asawase has also denied ever giving any money to Ayariga, let alone, say it came from Joseph Osei-Owusu.
He said MP Osei-Owusu had not discussed any money issue with him. “He (Osei-Owusu) has not given me (Muntaka) to be given to Ayariga or anybody,” the Minority Chief Whip indicated.

As a result, the Bekwai Youth has recommended that the MP should be subjected to a number of sanctions, after the matter had been dealt with.

It also suggested that Mahama Ayariga be made to retract his allegations through all media houses, especially, Radio Gold radio station, where this allegations were made public, made to face the law for defamation, and the necessary sanctions given him and be made to appear before the Privileges Committee of Parliament and investigations made public to that effect.

The youth, on behalf of Bekwai constituents, noted that MP Joe Osei-Owusu has never been corrupt and will never be, and that the records are there to show how honestly he worked when trusted with the public purse as the C.E.O of the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) in former President Kufuor’s regime, which subsequently led to his election as a Member of Parliament for three consecutive terms.

The Concerned Youth said Joe Osei-Owusu, who grew up in the palace of “Twafohene” of Bekwai, had good moral standards right from childhood, and believed him to be honest and God-fearing, and will not stoop low to be bribed or bribe somebody.

The aggrieved youth advised their MP to go to court and sue Mahama Ayariga for peddling falsehood and defamation, after making a statement on the floor of Parliament.

“It is extremely despicable that people can concoct lies to try and destroy the hard earned integrity of others this way,” they said.
In a statement issued at Bekwai yesterday, and signed by Eugene Osei Poku, Convener, and Ibrahim Boateng, Youth Organiser, the Bekwai Youth described the bribery allegation as defamatory.

It said following communication with Joe Osei-Owusu, the youth trust that the allegation is false as declared by Muntaka, a member of the Appointments Committee and MP for Asawase constituency, last Saturday.

The statement indicated that the kind of street politics which the NDC is embroiled in recent times is not only dangerous for the sustenance of credibility of politicians in this country, but also a way of trying to draw us back to the dark days.

According to the youth, Mahama Ayariga has not only put his credibility at stake, but also exhibited gross disrespect to the Parliament of Ghana, and shown the whole world that he has to be subjected to serious scrutiny if he was once trusted with the public purse.

The youth said they are saddened by the conduct of the Bawku Central legislator, a lawyer and former minister in a previous government, who should have been a better role model for the youth to fall shamefully and go “NAKED IN FRONT OF HIS IN-LAWS” in broad daylight.

They noted that Mahama Ayariga had brought the name of Parliament and the Ghana Bar Association into disrepute, and must face the consequences squarely.

“We would have only requested for pardon for him if he was a drunkard and might have done this under the influence of alcohol,” the irate youth group indicated, saying it found it difficult to refer to him as an Honourable, and must be subjected to sanctions after proper investigations.

The post Bekwai Youth Angry Over Ayariga’s Allegation … Call For Parliamentary Sanctions Against Bawku Central MP appeared first on The Chronicle - Ghana News.

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