Senior figures within the New Patriotic Party (NPP) are reportedly preparing to pay a formal visit to President John Dramani Mahama to offer an apology on behalf of the party’s Ashanti Regional Chairman, Bernard Antwi Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi.
The disclosure was made by the Ranking Member on Parliament’s Health Committee, Dr Nana Ayew Afriyie, during an interview on Channel One TV on Tuesday, 10 June.
Chairman Wontumi is currently under investigation by the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) for alleged financial offences, including fraud and money laundering.
Dr Afriyie suggested that President Mahama may be orchestrating the legal actions against the NPP official, asserting that the matter extends beyond the purview of EOCO and the intelligence services.
“The hand behind this is bigger than the people who run the EOCO and the intelligence agencies. I will put it at the doorstep of President Mahama,” he said.
Dr Nana Ayew Afriyie
He conceded that Chairman Wontumi’s actions ahead of the 2024 general elections were inappropriate, referring specifically to widely circulated videos in which Wontumi made personal attacks.
“Wontumi went overboard in some of his videos. And I played a lot of them to show him on June 9. I told him we will go and beg, if we have to kneel down in front of President Mahama, and we will tell him that for these videos, he [Wontumi] crossed the line,” Dr Afriyie explained.
According to Dr Afriyie, while political rivalry is part of the democratic process, it must not descend into personal insults and falsehoods.
He called on the NPP leadership to act with humility in seeking resolution, adding that Chairman Wontumi has agreed to render an apology. “Political rivalry is normal, but it must not be laced with fabrications or personal attacks,” he noted.
Chairman Wontumi was granted bail by EOCO after satisfying his bail conditions on 2 June. His legal team had earlier filed a motion on 30 May to seek a review of the GH¢50 million bail bond at the High Court in Accra.
However, the motion was formally withdrawn on 2 June, a day before it was scheduled for hearing.Source: Ernest K. Arhinful
