Senior members of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) are reportedly planning a visit to former President John Dramani Mahama to offer a formal apology on behalf of the party’s Ashanti Regional Chairman, Bernard Antwi Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi. This was revealed by Dr. Nana Ayew Afriye, the Member of Parliament for Effiduase-Asokore.
Chairman Wontumi is currently under investigation by the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) for alleged involvement in financial crimes, including fraud and money laundering.
Speaking during an interview on Channel One TV on Tuesday, June 10, Dr. Ayew Afriye suggested that former President Mahama might have a hand in Wontumi’s ongoing legal issues.
“For Chairman Wontumi’s case, we’re going to beg. 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. 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 — even if we have to kneel before President Mahama — and tell him that Wontumi crossed the line with these videos,” citinewsroom.com quoted him as saying.
Dr Afriye added that Chairman Wontumi has agreed to apologize for the remarks he made in widely circulated recordings ahead of the 2024 elections. He acknowledged that the comments were inappropriate and personal.
He urged party leadership to approach the issue with humility, noting that while political rivalry is expected, personal attacks based on falsehoods should not be condoned.
EOCO released Chairman Wontumi on June 2 after he complied with his bail conditions. His legal team formally withdrew a motion to appeal the GH¢50 million bail condition on the same day.
