Bawku Central MP, Mahama Ayariga has stated that he cannot retract the bribery claims he made over the work of the Appointments Committee which got him charged with contempt of Parliament.
According to him, though he had to apologise to purge himself of the contempt of Parliament charge as recommended by the ad-hoc committee set up to investigate his claim, he could not retract the claims because it would mean he perjured himself in his testimony to the Ghartey Committee.
Speaking in an interview on the committee's work on Citi FM's Big Issue, he said "there was a decision adopted by the House for me to apologise which I was bound by, whether or not I liked it and that is why I apologised. [but] I swore an oath when I spoke about what happened. If I retract what I said, wouldn't that be perjury after I swore an oath to it".
Mr Ayariga's statement comes after Majority Leader, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu's suggestion in a radio interview he [Ayariga] asked for a second chance to apologise to the House and that he may well retract his claims that Minister of Energy, Boakye Agyarko had attempted to bribe some members of the Appointments Committee through its chairman, Joseph Osei-Owusu and Minority Chief Whip Mohammed Muntaka.
The talk of a second apology has come up after Mr Ayariga's earlier apology on Thursday when the ad-hoc committee presented its report to the Hosue was criticised as being unapologetic.
Clearly dissatisfied with the report, Mr Ayariga had ignored the Speaker's advice to go straight to the apology and questioned whether the committee had the powers to make findings of contempt against.
After making his point, he unwillingly rendered the apology saying "Mr Speaker, if you say I should I apologise, I apologise".
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