Deputy Minority Leader and Member of Parliament for Asokwa, Patricia Appiagyei, has returned GH¢70,000 allocated to her in connection with the work of Parliament’s Appointments Committee, citing concerns about the source of the money and the circumstances under which it was given.
In a memorandum dated September 2, 2026, and addressed to the Minority Chief Whip and Nsawam-Adoagyiri MP, Frank Annoh-Dompreh, Mrs Appiagyei said the money had been presented to her as an advance from the Majority Chief Whip, but that she had no knowledge of its original source.
“It is with regret that I return the amount of seventy thousand cedis (GHS70,000.00) allocated to me as an advance of money from the Majority Chief Whip of Parliament of Ghana,” she stated.
She explained that her principal concern was that she could not accept money whose source was unclear.
“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,” the Deputy Minority Leader said.
Mrs Appiagyei also said she was uncomfortable receiving any financial benefit linked to the vetting of political colleagues appointed to leadership positions.
She specifically referred to the vetting of Majority Leader Mahama Ayariga and Environment Minister Dr Zanetor Agyeman-Rawlings, insisting that she did not want to benefit financially from participating in the scrutiny of colleagues from the Majority side.
“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, being either Hon. Mahama Ayariga or Hon. Zanetor Agyeman-Rawlings,” she wrote.
The Asokwa MP further linked her decision to the Minority’s refusal to participate in the vetting of three Supreme Court nominees — Justice Sophia Rosetta Oduokuwa Bernasko Essah, Justice Edward Amoako Asante and Justice Anthony Forson Jnr.
The Minority members of the Appointments Committee walked out of the August 27 vetting, protesting what they described as irregularities in the procedure adopted by the committee’s leadership.
Mrs Appiagyei said that, having taken a principled position against participating in that exercise, it would be inconsistent for her to subsequently accept any financial benefit associated with the process.
“Due to the Minority’s protest and non-participation in the vetting of the three Judges… on a matter of principle, I consider it totally unthinkable that I should enjoy any gift presented by any of the above judges,” she stated.
She added that it was also not her intention to “extort any money” from any of the nominees.
The Deputy Minority Leader said her decision was also intended to support Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin, whom she said had similarly decided to return his share of the money.
Mrs Appiagyei consequently asked for the GH¢70,000 to be returned to the Majority Chief Whip, with her reasons for rejecting the money communicated to him.
“In lieu of the above, and also in support of the Minority Leader’s decision to return his share of the amount sent to him in that respect, I humbly return the amount of seventy thousand cedis (GHS70,000.00) to be sent back to the Chief Whip of the Majority Caucus in Parliament, bringing to his attention my reasons for doing so,” she wrote.
She concluded the memorandum by reaffirming her commitment to the position taken by the Minority Caucus.
The development is likely to raise further questions about the purpose and source of the GH¢70,000 allocation, particularly in light of Mrs Appiagyei’s insistence that she was unaware of where the money originated.
