Patricia Appiagyei Returns GH¢70,000 Over Unclear Source and Vetting Concerns

Deputy Minority Leader and Member of Parliament for Asokwa, Patricia Appiagyei, has returned GH¢70,000 reportedly allocated to her in connection with the work of Parliament’s Appointments Committee.

In a memorandum dated September 2, 2026, and addressed to Minority Chief Whip Frank Annoh-Dompreh, Mrs Appiagyei said the money was presented as an advance from the Majority Chief Whip. She explained that she was returning it because its original source had not been disclosed to her.

“It is with regret that I return the amount of seventy thousand cedis allocated to me as an advance of money from the Majority Chief Whip of Parliament of Ghana,” she stated.

“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 Asokwa legislator also said she did not want to receive any personal financial benefit connected with the vetting of members of the Majority leadership, including Majority Leader Mahama Ayariga and Environment Minister Dr Zanetor Agyeman-Rawlings.

“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.

Mrs Appiagyei further linked her decision to the Minority Caucus’s withdrawal from the vetting of three Supreme Court nominees: Justice Sophia Rosetta Oduokuwa Bernasko Essah, Justice Edward Amoako Asante and Justice Anthony Forson Jnr.

Minority members walked out of the Appointments Committee’s proceedings on August 27, arguing that the nominees had been scheduled for vetting without adequate notice. Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin maintained that the process did not conform to established parliamentary procedure.

Mrs Appiagyei said it would be inconsistent to accept money associated with an exercise in which the Minority had declined to participate on principle.

“It is also not my intention to extort any money from any of the above judges,” she stated.

She added that her decision supported Mr Afenyo-Markin, whom she said had also decided to return his portion of the money.

Mrs Appiagyei consequently requested that the GH¢70,000 be returned to the Majority Chief Whip and that her reasons for rejecting it be formally communicated.

The development has raised questions about the purpose of the payment, how the GH¢70,000 figure was determined and the budgetary source from which it originated.

However, Mrs Appiagyei’s memorandum does not independently establish that the money came from any ministerial or judicial nominee. It records her concern that its source was unknown and her unwillingness to benefit from the vetting processes.

As of September 4, 2026, no publicly reported explanation had been issued by the Majority Chief Whip or Parliament’s leadership concerning the source and intended purpose of the payment