Deputy Minority Leader and Member of Parliament for Asokwa, Patricia Appiagyei, has declined a GH¢70,000 payment linked to the work of Parliament’s Appointments Committee, saying accepting the money would conflict with her principles and raise questions about the integrity of the vetting process.
Mrs Appiagyei returned the money in a memorandum dated September 2, 2026, addressed to the Minority Chief Whip and Nsawam-Adoagyiri MP, Frank Annoh-Dompreh.
According to her, the amount was presented to her as an advance from the Majority Chief Whip, but she was not informed about its original source.
She therefore said she could not accept funds when she was uncertain about where they came from.
“I am returning the money on the basis of the fact that, primarily, I do not know the source of the money being given to me,” she stated.
Beyond the source of the money, Mrs Appiagyei said she was particularly uncomfortable receiving any financial benefit connected to the vetting of members of the Majority side who had been nominated to leadership positions.
She cited the recent vetting of Majority Leader Mahama Ayariga and Environment, Science and Technology Minister Dr Zanetor Agyeman-Rawlings, stressing that she did not want to financially benefit from participating in the scrutiny of her political colleagues.
“My first reason is the fact that I do not want to enjoy any financial benefit under any circumstances to vet our own colleagues in leadership from the other side,” she wrote.
Her decision also comes against the backdrop of the Minority Caucus’ protest over the vetting of three Supreme Court nominees.
The Minority members of the Appointments Committee walked out of the August 27 exercise involving Justice Sophia Rosetta Oduokuwa Bernasko Essah, Justice Edward Amoako Asante and Justice Anthony Forson Jnr, citing concerns over the procedure adopted by the committee’s leadership.
Mrs Appiagyei argued that having taken a principled position by refusing to participate in that vetting, it would be inconsistent for her to accept money associated with the process.
She also rejected any suggestion that she intended to benefit financially from the nominees, stating that it was not her intention to “extort any money” from them.
The Asokwa MP further said her decision was in support of Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin, whom she indicated had also decided to return his share of the allocation.
She consequently requested that the GH¢70,000 be returned to the Majority Chief Whip, together with an explanation of why she had rejected the money.
Mrs Appiagyei’s action has brought renewed attention to the purpose, source and distribution of the GH¢70,000 allocation to members involved in the Appointments Committee’s work.
Her decision also places the issue within the broader debate over financial transparency and potential conflicts of interest in parliamentary vetting processes.
