Bribery scandal: I don't need to prepare before I can testify - Ablakwa

As one who has fought his way up to be called as witness to testify in the ongoing bribery scandal, many would have expected Hon. Okudzeto Ablakwa to have seriously studied and pieced together facts, that would exonerate him before the committee investigating the bribery case.

The Member of Parliament (MP) for North Tongu constituency was earlier, denied an opportunity to testify in the bribery case by the five-member committee approved by Parliament.

He corroborated an allegation by another minority member of Parliament, Mahama Ayariga that the Minister of Energy, Boakye Agyarko attempted to bribe members of the Appointments Committee to ease his approval through the chairman of the committee, Joe Osei Owusu.

He however managed to overturn the verdict through his lawyers when they wrote a letter to the committee indicating that the testimony given by the first witness, Hon. Osei-Owusu were not exactly true hence the need for him (Ablakwa) to defend himself.

Mr Osei-Owusu had informed the committee that Mr. Ablakwa had told him the torrid allegation was a joke prompting the latter to react to the news through his lawyers. But Hon. Ablakwa explained that he is "very hurt" about the kind of testimony Hon. Osei-Owusu shared when he appeared before the special committee investigating the bribery allegations. “..I want to go and set the record straight.

I don’t know why Hon. Joe Osei Owusu did that to me. Last time he did that to Hon. Ayariga and now, he has done the same to me”, he sadly said. In an intriguing interview on Radio Gold, Hon. Ablakwa shockingly revealed that he has not taken any extra classes or made time to prepare to face the committee when called upon.

According to him “When you are speaking the truth, you know the truth and you are only recounting the truth; you don’t need any preparation.

It is all about what you have seen, what you know; so you don’t need any preparation.” The former deputy Educational Minister noted that he would have made time to prepare to meet the Joe Ghartey led committee if he had previously told a lie.

“So when you are telling lies or fabricating stories that is when you always have to remember and cast your mind back to the lies you told previously to know you are consistent”, he said. He added that ever since the scandal broke out, he and his other colleagues; notably Hon. Mahama Ayariga and Hon Alhassan Suhuyini have been speaking the raw truth.

“We have been speaking the truth to this matter always and it is all about individual opportunity to recount the truth. There is no need for any preparation”, he added.