By Nicholas Osei-Wusu
The Kumasi Traditional Council has ordered the Ashanti Regional Chairman of the governing New Patriotic Party, NPP, Bernard Antwi Boasiako popularly called Chairman Wontumi, to appear before it next week Monday, January 29.
He has been summoned to respond to allegations that he made certain derogatory comments about occupant of the Golden Stool, the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu during a session of the just conducted vetting of aspirants for the Parliamentary elections of the party.
At the Kumasi Traditional Council’s meeting at the Manhyia Palace on Monday January 22, 2024, chaired by the Bantamahene, Baffuor Asare Owusu, a delegation of the NPP, led by its General Secretary, Justin Frimpong Kodua accompanied by the National Organizer, Henry Boakye Yiadom and some Ashanti Regional Executives of the NPP, the chiefs were expecting the appearance of Chairman Wontumi for him to hear and respond to his charges.
However, the General Secretary told the Meeting the inability of Chairman Wontumi to make an appearance due to ill health and therefore pleaded for two more weeks by which time the accused would have recovered to enable him respond to the summons.
However, as customs demands and taking their respective turns to speak to the issue, Heads of the various Divisions of the Kumasi Traditional Council out rightly rejected the ill health excuse given by the General Secretary describing it as contrived and expressed revulsion about the alleged unsavory comments by the NPP Regional Chairman.
The Divisional Heads again expressed indignation about a purported use of two of the Kumasi based radio stations owned by Chairman Wontumi by a private legal practitioner, Maurice Ampaw, to further denigrate chiefs in the Ashanti region.
In his ruling on the excuse and plead for more time for the accused by Mr. Kodua, the Banatamahene, Baffuor Owusu Asare, ordered Chairman Wontumi to make an appearance before the Traditional Council at their next adjourned date of Monday, January 29, 2024 regardless of his condition.
Chairman Wontumi is to appear together with Lawyer Maurice Ampaw and management of Wontumi FM to explain why they have also offered the legal practitioner the platform to verbally attack the chiefs without any provocation.
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Members of the Traditional Council warned that, they will not allow the matter to lie low in order not to encourage other people to tread that path.
They made references to similar past incidences involving the then Chief Executive of the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly, Kojo Bonsu and the founder of the United Freedom Party, Akwasi Addae Odike who were both hauled before the Council and sanctioned for their insubordination toward chiefs in the Ashanti region.
