Lawyer and activist Oliver Barker-Vormawor has issued a formal apology for his bribery allegation against Parliament’s Appointments Committee.
The apology was delivered by his legal representative, Nana Ato Dadzie, during a hearing before the committee, which had summoned him to substantiate his claim.
Barker-Vormawor had earlier made a Facebook post alleging that ministerial nominees were required to pay money to secure approval from the committee. His post 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.”
Acknowledging that he had made the post, Barker-Vormawor, through his lawyer, explained that the statement had been misinterpreted. Nana Ato Dadzie stated:
“Mr. Chairman… We apologise, first of all, for what we posted, which we said was intended for something else.”
He also clarified that some other posts perceived to support the bribery allegation were not authored by his client.
However, members of the committee, particularly from the minority side, were visibly displeased. Many had hoped to question Barker-Vormawor directly and were frustrated that his lawyer was speaking on his behalf.