The spokesperson for New Patriotic Party (NPP) flagbearer aspirant Kennedy Agyapong has issued a strong response to the Ashanti Region Chairman of the party, Bernard Antwi Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi, over his recent press conference in Kumasi on Wednesday, October 4.
In his presser, Chairman Wontumi warned Ken Agyapong to cease his threats directed at him and other party members, cautioning that failure to do so would result in his arrest.
“When he gets up he says, we are all stupid. I regret for being in NPP, you are fools. ‘The way you speak, I will show you.’ It is a ‘showdown’ and all that, let it end today,” Chairman Wontumi warned Ken Agyapong, addressing journalists.
“If not and you threaten me again, I will get you arrested,” he added. “This is advice I am giving you because that is what you did, and Ahmed Suale and the likes are no more in this world, so I will plead with you that from today, don’t let it be like that.”
Responding to Chairman Wontumi’s warnings, Kennedy Agyapong’s spokesperson, William Kusi, countered that if anyone deserved to be arrested, it should be Chairman Wontumi himself.
“Since the establishment of the NPP, there has not been an instance when a party chairman has slapped an MP. It is Chairman Wontumi. He slapped our brother Collins [Owusu Amankwa] but he is walking the streets of Kumasi and has not been arrested. If he says he will arrest somebody, he should go ahead and let’s see.”
Kusi also expressed outrage at Chairman Wontumi’s reference to the deceased journalist Ahmed Hussein-Suale, emphasizing that Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia is the ultimate authority when it comes to investigations into crimes, as he heads the Police Council.
“So if [Chairman Wontumi] wants the killers of Ahmed Suale, he should go to the Vice President and ask him. He shouldn’t ever say our candidate has talked about Ahmed Suale, so he killed him. It should be the last time he will make that statement.”
Background: The heated exchange between these two party members stems from Chairman Wontumi’s directive to constituency chairmen in the Ashanti Region to remove Alan Kyerematen’s posters and campaign materials from party offices due to his resignation from the NPP.
Alan Kyerematen responded by criticizing Chairman Wontumi, stating that he had introduced him to mainstream NPP politics.
However, Chairman Wontumi clarified that it was not Alan Kyerematen who had introduced him to the NPP but the late Dr. Amoako Tuffuor.
This ongoing verbal confrontation is perceived as a subtle power struggle between Ken Agyapong and Vice President Bawumia, whom Chairman Wontumi has openly declared his support for.
The NPP is set to elect its 2024 flagbearer on Saturday, November 4, and these exchanges reflect the political dynamics within the party as the leadership contest approaches.
