"We have no power to reject anybody" -Appointments Committee chair
-Joseph Osei-Owusu has denied reports that three Ministerial nominees have been rejected
-He said the committee or any group cannot do so
-He explained that what the committee can do is to make recommendations to parliament
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The chair of the Appointments Committee of Parliament, Joe Osei-Owusu said the committee cannot reject any ministerial nominee.
“This Committee has no power to reject anybody. Our duty is to make recommendations to the house,” he stated on Tuesday, March 2, 2021, during the committee’s sitting.
Source: Facebook
The clarification by Osei-Owusu, who is also the First Deputy Speaker of Parliament, comes on the back of reports that the NDC MPs on the committee rejected three nominees, including Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, Information Minister-designate.
He said the committee had not decided on any of the nominees, explaining that what is expected of the committee is to make recommendations.
“There is nothing going on here which is final. If we understand that, that will influence our discussion,” he said.
YEN.com.gh earlier reported that the NDC members of the committee rejected the nomination of Oppong Nkrumah and two others—Mavis Hawa Koomson and Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto—Ministers designate for Fisheries and Aquaculture, and Food and Agriculture respectively.
These three will require majority decision via voting on the floor of Parliament to sail through.
The committee, however, unanimously approved 22 nominees of the president. It also put on hold the approval of five others pending further clarifications.
Below are some of the reasons the NDC MPs gave for rejecting the Information Minister-designate.
--Least candid: According to the NDC MPs, the Ofoase Ayeribi lawmaker was not truthful to the committee on several infractions of the law, leading to the revocation of the license of a microfinance firm in which he was the majority shareholder. He commanded 83% of the defunct firm.
--Failure to take ethical responsibility: Oppong Nkrumah, the largest opposition lawmakers on the committee say refused to admit outstanding obligations to the firm despite an examination by the central bank that stated otherwise.
--Peddling lies: Another reason the NDC MPs gave for rejecting the nomination of Oppong Nkrumah was that he lied under oath regarding the circumstances leading to Manasseh Azure fleeing Ghana to South Africa for safety.
--Evasiveness: They say the nominee wasn’t unequivocal in addressing his association with MX24 TV. The parent company of the channel, Black Volta Publications Limited was incorporated on the 4th of April, 2017 when the nominee was serving as Deputy Minister for Information.
Meanwhile, YEN.com.gh earlier reported that the Information Minister-designate who is known to be a gentleman showed some form of intolerance on social media after a young man asked him a question he disliked.
Oppong Nkrumah's office manager, a beautiful young lady called Ann, turned a year older on Sunday, February 28, 2021.
In celebration, the Ofoase Ayirebi MP shared a photo with Ann and asked for God's grace for her.
Not long after the photo was shared by Oppong Nkrumah, a Twitter user with the handle @ComradeSharp asked if the minister-designate was sleeping with his office manager.
Following what could be described as an offensive comment, Oppong Nkrumah blocked the young man from his list of followers on the network.
@ComradeSharp took to his Twitter page to share screenshots of his question and the blocking feedback while describing Oppong Nkrumah as intolerant.
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Source: YEN.com.gh
