Professor Mike Oquaye on Friday, directed the leadership of the House, to within one week come up with approach towards dealing with alleged bribery claims against Parliament Committees’ sittings outside the capital.

[contextly_sidebar id=”QC41xZbO7i1wIf4K1NJVgAnq2ahlCJXw”]The directive follows recent claims that National Lottery Authority, paid over one hundred and fifty thousand Ghana  Cedis to facilitate a meeting over the Lotteries Bill that failed to pass last year.

This has called the integrity of Parliament into question once again.

Commenting on the latest development, Justice Emile Short said, the directive is not the panacea to the allegations of corruption that have rocked the house.

He therefore proposed the setting up of an independent investigative body to look in such alleged corrupt acts.

“I think an investigative body outside of Parliament should be set up to look into all the past allegations. For example in the past we had honourable Bagbin alleging that MPs take bribe. Then Martin Amidu made a long statement about bribery in Parliament. People are not happy with the way these allegations in the past have been dealt with..I don’t know whether they are going on a retreat but I do not see what purpose this will serve. I do not see how this will generate public confidence in the integrity of Parliament.”

CSOs call for independent probe into NLA bribery claim

Three anti-corruption civil groups; the Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII), Centre for Democratic Development-Ghana and the Ghana Anti-Corruption Coalition had called for an independent probe into the bribery allegations involving the NLA and members of Parliament’s Finance Committee when the scandal broke.

A joint statement by the three anti-graft bodies noted that Parliament’s integrity was gradually coming into question hence their call for a probe.

“This revelation, coming on the back of the unsatisfactory handling of Honourable Mahama Ayariga, Member of Parliament (MP) for Bawku Central’s bribery allegation presents a further challenge to the already dented image of Parliament and growing eroding trust in politics and the political class in the Fourth Republic,” they noted in a statement.

‘MPs take bribes’

The MP for Nadowli/Kaleo, Alban S.K. Bagbin, in 2014 alleged that some MPs take bribe to articulate the views of some individuals and organisations on the floor of Parliament.

Although he came under a wave of attack from some MPs, Alban Bagbin insisted that evidence to that effect existed and added that the practice had persisted because of the lack of laid-down rules and ethics on lobbying in the country.

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By: Marian Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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Speaking on Eyewitness News, Kofi Adams, who is the National Coordinator of President Mahama’s campaign team, described the allegations as “cock and bull stories.”

The NPP at a press conference on Tuesday addressed by Mustapha Hamid, spokesperson for the NPP’s presidential candidate, alleged that the President and his brother, Ibrahim Mahama, tried to compromise Bugri Naabu with a brand new V6 Mitsubishi, a brand New V8 Land Cruiser and GHc 3.3 million for him to resign from his party and further paint the Akufo-Addo as a dictator and “an anti-northerner.”

[contextly_sidebar id=”GujFDcnTi9jvX4NDTSQww54UeWVV96pr”]“Around the same time, Ibrahim Mahama had tried to convince Bugri with money to leave the NPP to become a chief after Daniel Bugri Naabu’s uncle died, but Bugri refused,” he added.

But Kofi Adams maintained that the claims by the NPP are lies.

“Who in his mind collects money he says it’s bribe; and goes and deposit in his account. He didn’t find any police station to take that money that he considers as a bribe. He didn’t find any person to witness that he took the money and was going round and looking for a Prudential bank that works on Saturday to go and deposit the money. This cock and bull stories should be told to only NPP members and not Ghanaians in generality.”

When further asked by host Eyewitness News, Richard Dela Sky on whether the government would investigate the matter, Kofi Adams said they will do no such thing.

“We will not have to waste our time as a country on NPP. There are so much things to do in this country that we cannot waste our time on NPP and sit on that fallacious statements that they are making. This is the business they do when we are approaching elections. How are you going to investigate these allegations? Clearly they are lying…they are lying and just making allegations,” he insisted.

Further claims by NPP

Mr. Hamid also revealed that the vehicle that was given as bribe, was imported in August 2016 by a firm called Malin Investments Company Limited.

He noted that, the NPP’s checks at the Registrar General’s Department indicated that, the two of the company’s Directors are Hawa Mahama, sister of President Mahama, and Frank Nuhu Alormasor, President Mahama’s personal assistant.

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By: Godwin A. Allotey/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @AlloteyGodwin

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