The Appointments Committee of Parliament has summoned lawyer and social activist, Oliver Barker-Vormawor, concerning alleged bribery claims he made against members of the committee.

The outspoken activist, Barker-Vormawor, made serious allegations against the members of the Appointments Committee, accusing them of accepting monetary bribes to expedite and approve ministerial nominees after their vetting process.

Barker-Vormawor questioned why such corrupt practices were not being pursued by the anti-corruption committee, Operation Recover All Loot (ORAL).

“So, all the monies the ministerial appointees are being asked to pay to the Appointments Committee just to get approved, are those ones not affected by ORAL? Strange Republic,” he wrote in a Facebook post on January 24, 2025.

In response to the serious allegations, the Chairman of the Committee, Bernard Ahiafor, categorically refuted the claims, stating that no such incident had occurred.

According to him, he is willing to submit himself for an investigation, maintaining his integrity and insisting that he has not engaged in any corrupt activity.

“It is unfortunate that members of the Appointments Committee will be tagged with corruption. Our attention has been drawn to a media statement by Oliver Barker-Vormawor to the effect that the Majority members of the committee have been demanding money before approving the nominees and the chairman must submit himself to ORAL.

"Let me place on record that I am ever ready to submit myself to ORAL. The second aspect was to the effect that all the committee members were taking money from the nominees before vetting and approval. This morning, instead of starting vetting by 10 am, we were called into a conclave to deliberate on this issue,” he said.

He added that “We need to stop certain attitude so, therefore, I, Bernard Ahiafor, the First Deputy Speaker of Parliament and the Chairman of the vetting committee, wants to place it on record that myself and the committee members did no demand money from any nominee before vetting and approval,” he continued.

Ahiafor has, therefore, instructed the clerk of Parliament to summon Barker-Vormawor to appear before the committee and substantiate his claims with evidence.

The committee has warned that it will take drastic action, invoking its authority to address the matter, if Barker-Vormawor fails to honor the invitation.

“I will, therefore, direct the clerk of the committee to invite Oliver Barker-Vormawor to appear before the committee tomorrow at 10 am before noon to provide evidence of any member of the vetting committee to back his claim that we demand money from the nominees before vetting and approval. When he fails, then we will invoke the powers of the committee under Article 103 and our own Standing Order 134. I so direct,” he added.

See a screenshot of Barker-Vormawor's claims below: