Senior members of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) are reportedly preparing to pay a formal visit to President John Dramani Mahama to apologize on behalf of the party’s Ashanti Regional Chairman, Bernard Antwi Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi.
The revelation came from Dr. Nana Ayew Afriyie, Ranking Member of Parliament’s Health Committee, during an interview on Channel One TV on Tuesday, June 10.
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 claimed that President Mahama may be influencing the legal proceedings against the NPP official, asserting that the matter extends beyond EOCO and the intelligence services.
“The hand behind this is bigger than the people who run EOCO and the intelligence agencies. I will put it at the doorstep of President Mahama,” Dr. Afriyie stated.
He acknowledged that Chairman Wontumi’s behavior in the lead-up to the 2024 general elections was inappropriate, particularly in widely circulated videos where he engaged in personal attacks.
“Wontumi went overboard in some of his videos. I played a lot of them to show him on June 9. I told him that we will go and beg—if we have to kneel before President Mahama, we will tell him that, for these videos, Wontumi crossed the line,” he explained.
Dr. Afriyie emphasized that while political rivalry is a normal aspect of democracy, it must not descend into personal insults and falsehoods. He urged the NPP leadership to approach the matter with humility, revealing 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.
Meanwhile, Chairman Wontumi was granted bail by EOCO after meeting the required conditions on June 2. His legal team had previously filed a motion on May 30 seeking a review of the GH¢50 million bail bond at the High Court in Accra. However, the motion was formally withdrawn on June 2, a day before it was set for hearing.
