This week, begins perhaps the worse period in the life of the Ashanti Regional Chairman of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP), Bernard Antwi Boasiako, popularly called “Chairman Wontumi” as it might just be the end of his political fortune in the ruling party’s stronghold.
The popularity which catapulted him into political prominence is gone, and party activists are brazenly willing to publicly call him out, after throwing accusations of selfishness, neglect, allegations of fraud, collecting things in the name of party supporters, which they claimed never got to them.
So far, some four persons are lined up to contest “Chairman Wontumi” in the region and his chances to win the endorsement of delegates for the third time, appear extremely uncertain.
But he is said to have a bigger plan to contest the National Vice Chairmanship position, should he lose this weekend’s election to any of his rivals.
His challengers; include a former Afigya Kwabre South Constituency Chairman, Odeneho Kwaku Appiah, also known as Chairman Odeneho Kwaku Appiah (COKA); a former Member of Parliament for Ejisu, Kwabena Owusu Aduomi; a former Asokwa Constituency Chairman, Robert Asare-Bediako, popularly known as Chairman Asare-Bediako, and Oheneba Kofi Adum Bawuah.
They are said to be divided along the camps of Vice-President Mahamudu Bawumia and that of Trade Minister Alan Kyeremanten, but Wontumi must fall, appears to be on the lips of many people, meaning none of the other contestants is in a comfortable lead.
The anger against the known Galamsay Lord, had been on after the 2020 Presidential and Parliamentary election when his claim of annexing all the seats in Ashanti Region, failed to materialize, as the opposition NDC, rather won additional seats.
In January, this year, some residents of Bontefuo-Ahwerewa and other adjoining communities in the Amansie West District of the Ashanti region, expressed their disappointment in the NPP Ashanti Regional Chairman for abandoning their roads.
According to them, the Akufu-Addo government, had awarded the road contract to Mr Boasiako, but he has abandoned the project.
Some of the residents who spoke to Class News’ regional correspondent, Elisha Adarkwa, said the bad nature of the road network, makes it unmotorable during the rainy season.
They said not only has armed robbers been terrorising them due to the bad nature of the road, but drivers have also taken advantage of it to charge exorbitant fares.
They argued that, Chairman Wontum,i should be blamed if the NPP loses votes in the area during the 2024 general elections as a consequence of the bad road network.
They, therefore, want President Akufo-Addo to force Chairman Wontumi to get back to the site and fix the road.
For this part, the chief of Bontefuo-Ahwerewa, Nana Osei Owusu Kuffour Ababio, expressed his disappointment with the state of affairs, adding that they have been deceived by the government.
He said the abandoned road network has brought hardship to his subjects and, so, must be fixed.
Not long ago, he disclosed that he buys road contracts to stay in business even though his party is in power.
According to him, although his lack of experience in the construction field makes him quite unqualified for road contracts, he questioned why he is not awarded contracts but others like Messrs Jacob, Attachy Construction, and Kofi Job were awarded all the contracts.
Wontumi claimed that the Akufo-Addo led government owes him about GHC100 million for road constructions pre-financed because they have refused to pay him the required 20% mobilization fee for contracts which has accumulated to Ghc100 million indebtedness by the government.
Chairman Wontumi noted that the road construction industry is a capital-intensive one for which he pays 10percent to colleague contractors like Akwasi Addai Odike and Kofi Akpaloo to take over contracts awarded to them.
He said this while speaking in a meeting with some party activists in Kumasi.
But shortly after Chairman Wontumi’s claim, the leader of the Liberal Party of Ghana, Percival Kofi Akpaloo, demanded evidence to back his claims that he (Wontumi) bought road contracts from him.
A voice purported to be that of Mr Wontumi was heard on a leaked audiotape telling his interlocutors that he bought road contracts from both Mr Akpaloo and the flag bearer of the United Front Party, Mr Akwasi Addai Odike, by paying them 10 per cent of the total sum of their respective contracts.
However, speaking in an interview with Kwame Appiah Kubi on Accra100.5FM’s morning show Ghana Yensom on Tuesday, 11 May 2021, Mr Akaploo said he has been a beneficiary of government contracts in all the administrations of the fourth republic including the eras of presidents John Kufuor and John Mahama.
Mr Akpaloo, however, refused to disclose the number of contracts he got under the Mahama administration when pressed by the host, insisting it was a private matter.
According to him, “we search for contracts, you apply for them, you may either get a contract or not”.
He said the alleged road contracts alluded to were “none of your business”, adding: “There’s nothing to tell you”.
Asked if his sympathies or the NPP were rooted in the alleged contracts he got from the government, Mr Akpaloo retorted: “Odike speaks against the government but he got a government contract because he is a Ghanaian”.
He said government contracts are not given based on party affiliation. “If you don’t qualify, you don’t qualify”, Mr Akpaloo stressed.
“Have I told you that I sold any contract? You have no evidence except to quote what somebody has said and insist it is true. When you accuse somebody, you should come with evidence. So, if you don’t have the evidence, don’t talk about the allegation”.
The Daily Graphic’s Kwadwo Baffoe Donkor reports that during last week’s vetting, that the atmosphere in the Yaa Serwaa Hall of the Ashanti Regional Coordinating Council (RCC), the venue for the vetting, was calm and peaceful.
It said that with the exception of the incumbent, all the other contestants vying for the Ashanti Regional chairmanship are calling for change.
Speaking with the media after their vetting, all the candidates reiterated their campaign messages and called on the electorate to vote for them.
With the slogan: “Still Maintain”, Wontumi believed that it would be unwise to change a winning team.
Having led the party in the region to win the 2016 and the 2020 presidential elections, he believed that he had the wherewithal to get a third victory.
According to him, the NPP could not afford to experiment with a new chairman and, therefore, called on the party faithful to retain him to continue with his work and strategies to ensure that the region delivered another victory for the party.
Mr Asare-Bediako called for the strengthening of the foundation of the party, which was the grassroots.
He said the current chairman had neglected the grassroots and it was time to rebuild that foundation to hold the party together.
He said the battle ahead called for someone with a cool head and maturity to help the party weather the storm and lead it to victory.
That point was supported by Odeneho Appiah, who equally believed in strengthening the party structures, re-energising the party base, promoting unity and working together.
He pledged to resource the party and work with all members to ensure that it became attractive to the people.
Oheneba Bawuah, for his part, said it was time the structures of the NPP in the Ashanti Region were made to work for the benefit of all members, instead of building the party around individuals.
“We need to build the party to outlive all of us. We need to put away greed and selfishness and work for the interest of the party, the Ashanti Region and, by extension, the country,” he said.
He promised to ensure that the region had its fair share of the national cake.
According to him, for its contribution to the growth of the party, “Ashanti Region deserves more than what it is getting”.
Mr Owusu-Aduomi, who is a former Deputy Minister of Roads and Highways, believed the voter apathy in the region was due to the lack of development projects there.
He promised to ensure that all the districts had their fair share of road projects if he was elected regional chairman of the NPP.
While all the candidates stand a good chance of winning the chairmanship, events on the ground indicate that it is more of a two-horse race between the incumbent and Odeneho Appiah.
Aside from the fact that Mr Asare-Bediako entered the race very late, his withdrawal from the last election at the last minute may have some repercussions on his chances.
The support base for the former Ejisu MP does not seem large enough to cause any havoc, although there are speculations that he and Chairman Asare-Bediako could form a last-minute alliance, all in an attempt to dethrone the incumbent.
