The New Patriotic Party (NPP) has the financial muscle to meet Chairman Wontumi’s GHS50 million bail condition but is unwilling to risk personal properties, according to Professor Ransford Gyampo.
Speaking on The Key Points on TV3, Prof. Gyampo, who is also the acting CEO of the Ghana Shippers Authority, said the party’s reluctance is not due to lack of capacity, but fear of jeopardizing their assets.
“Are we to be fooled into believing that the GHS50 million bail is too much for the NPP to meet? They are just afraid of using their properties,” he said. “They think we don’t know what they have?”
His comments come as pressure mounts over the detention of the NPP’s Ashanti Regional Chairman, Bernard Antwi Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi.
Dr. Ishmael Norman, President of the Institute for Security, Disaster and Emergency Studies, also questioned why the party hasn’t found a solution despite its vast resources.
“You’re not being asked to pay GHS50 million in cash, just provide sureties,” Dr. Norman said on News Central on Friday, May 30. “With all the assets of the NPP, you mean they can’t find two sureties? Even Chairman Wontumi boasts about his wealth in Kumasi.”
Minority Demands EOCO Revoke Bail Terms
Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin has called for the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) to revoke what he describes as “punitive” bail conditions.
Making his first appearance on the floor since Parliament resumed on May 27, Afenyo-Markin accused EOCO of using the bail to punish Wontumi, who he says is unwell and has been moved to the National Intelligence Bureau (NIB) clinic.
“It’s clear the GHS50 million bail is just to punish him,” he argued, citing the need to uphold the rule of law and due process.
After initial resistance from the First Deputy Speaker, the Minority Leader was granted permission to make his submission. However, the Deputy Speaker ruled that Parliament has no authority to instruct EOCO on the matter.
In protest, Minority MPs walked out of the House in solidarity with Chairman Wontumi.
Key Takeaway:
While Wontumi’s bail controversy stirs heated debate, Gyampo and Norman agree: the NPP has the means, but fear and politics may be holding them back.
