Oliver Barker-Vormawor and Nana Ato Dadzie
Nana Ato Dadzie, counsel for private legal practitioner and activist Oliver Barker-Vormawor, has stated that his client is willing to offer a public apology to the Appointments Committee for making disparaging comments about its members.
Appearing before the committee on Wednesday, January 29, 2025, Barker-Vormawor denied the allegations but clarified that a post on his Facebook page accusing all committee members of taking bribes before vetting was not intended to disparage them.
He emphasised that his client was ready to apologise for any comments perceived as offensive.
“The statement said that NDC members of the Appointments Committee take money from Mahama’s ministerial nominees before approving them. They must submit themselves to ORAL, and this is not from Barker-Vormawor, it is fake. Some primary investigations show that this statement is fake. This is not from Barker-Vormawor. It’s fake.
“Some investigations have shown where this statement appeared. Well, I’m just quoting. Yeah, there’s a document with a title that isn’t partisan. Just quoting the NPP Projects Bureau. People can forward where the post appeared. This means you have to search before we go there. I’m not saying that this is partisan-based. I will just mention where it appeared.
“So, we would not want to speak to that. As I said, it’s not us. Anyway, the second one – we apologise if there was any misunderstanding or if the wrong impression was given. As a supporter of democracy, he is really willing and prepared to, one, apologise for this misunderstanding and, two, withdraw the statement. And this is really why we are here,” he explained.
Barker-Vormawor was formally invited by the Chairman of the Appointments Committee and the 1st Deputy Speaker of Parliament to provide evidence to support his allegations that members of the committee receive bribes before approving nominees.
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”.
JKB/MA
