Majority Leader in Parliament and NDC MP for Bawku Central, Mahama Ayariga, has stepped down from the three-member committee set up by the National Democratic Congress (NDC) to investigate allegations of vote-buying during the party’s parliamentary primaries in the Ayawaso East constituency.
In a social media post on Sunday February 8, 2026, Ayariga explained that his continued participation had become “untenable” following the position adopted by the NDC Majority Caucus in Parliament, which called for the immediate cancellation of the Ayawaso East primary results.
“In view of the position taken by the Caucus of the NDC in Parliament regarding cancellation of the Ayawaso East primary, it has become untenable for me to serve on the Investigation Committee set up by the National Executive of the NDC,” he stated.
“I have therefore notified the party that a suitable replacement should be appointed,” he added.
The NDC General Secretary, Fifi Fiavi Kwetey, swiftly announced the replacement, naming former MP and Minister Inusah Fuseini to take Ayariga’s place on the committee.
“The NDC has appointed former MP and Minister, Hon. Inusah Fuseini to replace Hon Mahama Ayariga on the committee investigating the reported vote buying incidents in the Ayawaso East Primaries,” Fifi Kwetey posted.
“Hon Ayariga had to step down because his position on the Committee became untenable following the declared position of the majority caucus. The party remains committed to upholding the highest integrity in all its internal electoral processes,” he wrote.
The investigative committee was formed on February 7, 2026, immediately after the primaries, and is chaired by veteran politician and former Information Minister Kofi Totobi Quakyi, with lawyer Emefa Fugah as the other original member. With Fuseini’s inclusion, the panel now consists of Totobi Quakyi (Chair), Emefa Fugah, and Inusah Fuseini.
The committee is expected to thoroughly examine the allegations, including reports of delegates receiving items such as 32-inch television sets, food items, cash, and boiled eggs—and submit its findings and recommendations to the party leadership by Tuesday, February 10, 2026.
The developments follow Saturday’s primaries in Ayawaso East, held to select the NDC candidate for the March 3, 2026 by-election triggered by the death of the sitting MP. The process has been overshadowed by widespread claims of inducement and vote-buying.
Earlier on Sunday, the NDC Majority Caucus, in a statement signed by Ayariga himself, demanded the annulment of the primary results and the disqualification of any candidates proven to have engaged in unethical practices from any potential rerun.
The controversy has also led to the recall of the declared winner, Mohammed Baba Jamal Ahmed (Baba Jamal), as Ghana’s High Commissioner-designate to Nigeria by President John Dramani Mahama, pending the outcome of probes. Baba Jamal has denied the allegations and pledged full cooperation.
The Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) is separately investigating the matter, amid accusations that Baba Jamal instigated an assault on one of its officers attempting to serve him notice during the primaries.
