Ashanti Regional Chairman of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), Bernard Antwi Boasiako, popularly known as Wontumi, has taken exception to an allegation by the party leadership regarding some comments he allegedly made.
Wontumi reportedly claimed that the party leadership scheduled its presidential primary on January 31, 2026, to favour a particular candidate, but the leadership has denied this, stating that the remarks do not represent the party’s official position.
A Sunday, September 28, 2025 statement issued and signed by the party’s General Secretary, Justin Kodua Frimpong, dismissed the assertion, saying the primary is not being organised in favour of any particular candidate.
It added that the January 31 date was influenced by “exhaustive deliberations in the supreme interest of the party”, calling on all stakeholders, especially polling station executives, to disregard the utterances he describes as misleading.
“The decision to hold an early congress is intended solely to provide the Party with sufficient time and strategic advantage to reorganise, reposition, and recapture power in 2028,” the statement explained.
In a sharp rebuttal, Wontumi expressed disappointment in the party’s General Secretary, saying he could have reached out to him to hear what he actually said, rather than resorting to propaganda and assuming he made those comments.
In a statement issued Sunday, September 28, in direct response to the party’s position, Wontumi stated that it’s possible someone could have used technology to twist his words, which is why he expected Justin Kodua to have contacted him for his side of the story before issuing the statement.
He explained how events unfolded for the party since 1996 and how they contributed to their respective electoral victories and losses. He also stated how they could rally behind Dr. Bawumia to win back power in 2028.
“Throughout my engagement with people, I have never dragged in the name of our National Council and that is easily verifiable from videos shared online. For the avoidance of doubt, I touched on the history of our party and how it can position us to win back power in 2028 with Dr. Bawumia.”
“After the 1996 internal primaries, the NPP had only six months to prepare and face the national election and our flagbearer – J.A Kufuor, had 39% after the exercise.
“Mr Kufuor was given another chance in 1998 by the party delegates at Sunyani when they voted for him. This time round, he had two clear years to start his campaign giving him an advantage his main contender – Atta Mills, didn’t get.
“Kufuor in the 2000 election was looking for 11% plus 1 to add up to his 39.9% but Atta Mills, a fresh candidate was looking for 50% plus 1. To link this to our current situation, Dr Bawumia, is looking for 9% to win the NPP the 2028 election,” he explained.
As Regional Chairman, Wontumi said the position he occupies “places me closer to the people who tell me about the direction the party should be considering in recapturing power. This was clearly manifested in my engagement with them.”
He described as unfortunate, the leadership’s failure to make enquiries coming out with its statement.
“It is unfortunate Mr. Justin Kodua Frimpong has fallen for a propaganda seeking to misconstrue my statement. There is no justice in the way he has gone about the matter.
“In this era where saboteurs can easily use tools such as Al to destroy good people, Mr. Kodua Frimpong could have simply reached out to me and gotten a full understanding of my statements before issuing a statement that is far from the truth.”
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