Oliver Barker-Vormawor, social activist and convenor of DemocracyHub, has apologised to the Appointments Committee of Parliament, saying his social media post about bribery allegations were not meant to denigrate its members.
Barker-Vormawor, who had previously claimed that some committee members demanded bribes from ministerial nominees, explained that his comments were intended to highlight broader concerns about corruption and transparency, rather than directly accuse the committee.
His counsel, Nana Ato Dadzie, appearing before the Appointments Committee Wednesday, January 29, 2025, indicated that his client’s post was inspired by the Whistleblower’s Act and not to disparage the Committee’s integrity.
This followed the Committee’s summon of Barker-Vormawor to provide evidence to claims he made against members of the committee which he obliged and attended with his counsel.
After his lawyer denying one of the statements and admitting to the other, he said his client was before the committee to apologise for his post which was made to highlight the broader spectrum of corruption in the country rather than attacking the integrity of Parliament.
“I am saying here clearly that my post was not intended to disparage members of the committee, and I have not intended to say that members of this committee have received or demanded bribes from various individuals. At no point was my statement intended to communicate the same, and for those reasons, I apologize,” said Barker-Vormawor.
In his explanation to why he did not delete the post, he said: “The reason why I have left the post on was because I saw that the words had been twisted, and it became imperative for me to maintain the post in its original form so that, if questioned on it, reference could be made for verification.”
Barker-Vormawor added that he was willing to remove the post, signalling his commitment to resolving the issue amicably.
