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Former Vice President and 2024 NPP Flagbearer, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, is leading efforts to secure bail for Bernard Antwi Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi, the Ashanti Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), who remains in custody.
Speaking to Citi News, Greater Accra Regional NPP Chairman, Divine Agorhom, affirmed the party’s collective effort to secure Wontumi’s release.
He added that support from party leadership, parliamentary caucus, and national executives remains unwavering as efforts intensify to secure Wontumi’s freedom.
“It is not only His Excellency Dr Mahamudu Bawumia but every senior party person. We are hoping that the EOCO itself will be able to vary the condition a bit more lenient for us to meet.”
“If that is not the case, my understanding is that the council is considering legal avenues to vary the conditions. If all that fails, then we will have to pull resources and see what we can do to get him out. Not only His Excellency the Former Vice President, but all leading members, including our caucus in parliament and the national leadership. They are all involved in finding a solution.”
Wontumi has been detained since Wednesday, May 28, after failing to meet bail conditions granted by the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO).
The bail was set at GH₵50 million with two sureties, both of whom must justify their eligibility — a requirement his legal team has so far been unable to satisfy.
In a show of protest, Minority Members of Parliament on Thursday, May 29, marched from Parliament to the EOCO headquarters in Accra.
Clad in red and black to symbolize resistance, the MPs blocked the agency’s entrance, chanted solidarity songs, and vowed to spend the night on the premises in a dramatic display of support.
Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin, who led the demonstration, also announced a boycott of parliamentary proceedings by NPP MPs until Wontumi is released.
He described the bail conditions as excessively punitive and politically motivated, emphasizing that Wontumi has not been formally charged and has cooperated fully with investigators.
Former Assin Central MP, Kennedy Agyapong, has volunteered to serve as one of the sureties to help secure the party chairman’s release.
Deputy Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Justice Srem-Sai, has confirmed that Wontumi is being investigated for multiple offences, including fraud, causing financial loss to the state, and money laundering.
He further disclosed that the case involves elements of international organised crime, and EOCO is collaborating with global enforcement partners.
