The allegation by the Member of Parliament for Asikuma-Odoben-Abrakwa, Hon P.C Appiah- Ofori that New Patriotic Party (NPP) MPs who belonged to the last parliament, at the time of voting for the Ghana Telecom/Vodafone deal took $5,000 bribe from the former Chief of Staff, seems to be taking horrendous twist.

The first Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Hon. Edward Doe-Adjaho, who was mentioned by Mr. Appiah-Ofori as the source of the information has told The Chronicle in an interview that he did not make the allegation publicly, because he could not substantiate it. “As a lawyer I cannot make such allegation without providing proof’, he said.

Mr. Doe-Adjaho, who was then the Deputy Minority leader at the time, said he held a discussion with Mr. Appiah-Ofori over the allegation when the news was making rounds in Parliament, and Mr. Appiah-Ofori assured him that he would get back to him in five minutes for confirmation or denial.

“He said he was checking and will call me in five minutes. He called back and told me that he had received confirmation from one of his colleagues. I didn’t ask him the name of that colleague because it was an issue involving MPs in their party,” he intimated. Mr. Adjaho said he called Mr. Appiah-Ofori because he is the Vice President of a network they both belong to.

In an interview with The Chronicle, Mr. Appiah-Ofori said he got wind of the information from the First Deputy Speaker, who told him that the ‘palms of MPs were greased’ to ensure the smooth passage of the deal. He indicated that he was denied his share of the ‘bribe’ because he stood against the deal. He mentioned the name of Hon. Nana Yaw Edward Ofori-Kuragu, the Member of Parliament of Bosome-Freho as the one who confirmed knowledge of the ‘gift’, but quickly added that he was not given his share of the money, on the grounds that he was not present during the voting for the deal.

Mr. Appiah-Ofori insisted that when he received the information, he wrote to the Presidency for explanation as to why he was not given any money, if that money was meant to support the parliamentarians in their work. Mr. Ofori-Kuragu on his part told this paper that he was surprised that his name had been mentioned in Mr. Appiah Ofori’s allegation. According to him, he never told Mr. Appiah-Ofori that he had been left out of the deal. “I have no idea about any $5,000 money given to MPs, I have never told him anything,” he added.

When asked whether he had confronted Mr. Appiah-Ofori over the allegation, he said he had not had the opportunity to meet his colleague since he had been at the Fiesta Royale Hotel the whole day for a programme. The then Majority Chief Whip, Hon Osei-Kyei Mensah-Bonsu has also flatly denied the allegation. He said on Joy FM that at the time of the voting, they were a little bit hesitant about the deal, but they were convinced later by the deputy Minister of Communications at the time, Hon Fredrick Opare-Ansah who clarified the details of the deal.

While denying the bribery allegation, he admitted that sometimes there is lobbying of votes in Parliament, adding that this is done the world over. The former Chief of Staff, Mr. Kwadwo Mpiani, who was accused of paying the bribe to the MPs, on his part expressed shock on the allegation of the Odoben Abrakwa legislator, and insisted that the accusation had long been settled.

He said after Mr. Appiah Ofori had made the allegations of bribery in a letter to the Presidency, he personally met the legislator and rebuked him for the letter which he later wrote another letter to retract his allegation.

“He came to me and I explained that nothing like that sort had happened and he apologized and said he was going to withdraw that letter, which he did”, he stressed.

Responding to the new developments, Mr. Appiah-Ofori said he was not expecting members from the NPP to corroborate the allegation. “If it is not true, what benefit would I derive by saying this in public? Do you expect them to come and say it is true?” he argued.

He denied withdrawing his allegation, explaining that the apology was about making the letter he wrote public, instead of privately approaching the Chief of Staff. According to Hon. P.C Ofori, he made it clear to Mr. Mpiani that he would withdraw the content of the letter on condition that he would be given his share of the $5,000 if indeed it was meant to facilitate the work of the MPs.