The Ashanti Regional Chairman for the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Bernard Bosiako Antwi, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi has revealed what happened during the vetting of candidates for the party’s parliamentary primaries.
According to Chairman Wontumi, he was a part of the panelists who had to take the aspiring Member of Parliament (MPs) through the vetting process.
He disclosed that during the process, he was reluctant to interrogate the Energy Minister, Matthew Opoku Prempeh, also known as NAPO because he had no questions to ask at that time.
“ I am a servant of NPP, the other day we were given an opportunity to interact with individuals who were coming for vetting. I had a lot of interaction with a lot until it got to the turn of NAPO. I told him I have no questions to ask him but the committee chairman, Nana B insisted I did,” he added.
Chairman Wontumi said he was compelled to engage NAPO after the National Organiser of the party, Henry Nana Boakye, (Nana B) who was also the chairman for the committee and the other panellists insisted he does.
He said that after throwing a question at NAPO, one of the panellists suggested they all bear witness to the good works of NAPO.
“I told him that I didn’t ask KT Hammond anything so I won’t do the same. NAPO sat close to 10 mins because I wasn’t willing to ask him anything so I eventually asked him. I asked him if the NPP wins in 2024 what should Ghana expect from the party. He said Ghana will experience development. I didn’t ask him anything again because there were otters waiting. Nana B later said we had to testify and they all praised him, but I said nothing. When NAPO was going Nana B and the others escorted him,” he stated.
Wontumi’s failure to recognize NAPO’s contributions to the party’s internal activities in the Ashanti region, according to him, got the Chief of Kokoso, Nana Kwaku Duah, furious who later came verbally attacking him after NAPO had left the committee.
“Long after my organizer at Manhyia South came screaming and hitting the table saying if no one will speak I will. He asked me why I didn’t testify for NAPO. I told him to go because I don’t want to retaliate. I told him this is my kingdom, as soon as I said that he said Otumfuor is the only person that has a kingdom. I meant it was my political kingdom,” he explained.
In the heat of the argument,, Wontumi said he had to control the situation by telling Nana Kwaku Duah “NPP is his Kingdom in Ashanti Region and that at that vetting, the issues at stake were purely party issues.”
Wontumi revealed this when he appeared before the Kumasi Traditional Council for allegedly using derogatory remarks against the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II and the Asanteman.
Nana Kwaku Duah had claimed that Chairman Wontumi displayed significant disrespect towards the Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, during the vetting process leading up to the NPP’s Parliamentary primaries.
In the meantime, Chairman Wontumi has been cleared of allegations of disrespecting the Ashanti stool.