Wontumi, Obimpeh Clash


Bernard Antwi-Boasiako, aka Wontumi with Yaw Obimpeh

ASHANTI REGIONAL Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Bernard Antwi-Boasiako, aka Wontumi, and his National Democratic Congress (NDC) counterpart, Yaw Obimpeh, have had a confrontation, accusing each other of fomenting trouble to disrupt the ongoing limited registration exercise in the region.

The top politicians accused each other of ferrying thugs to the various registration centres just to disrupt the important national political exercise in the presence of DCOP Kofi Boakye, the Ashanti Regional Police Commander last Friday.

This was when the police chief, who was extremely worried over reported cases of hired thugs causing mayhem at some of the registration centres, called a meeting involving the leadership of the various political parties in the area to find a lasting solution to the issue.

Yaw Obimpeh, the NDC Chairman, was the first to accuse Chairman Wontumi of hiring thugs to beat up NDC agents at the registration centres, maintaining that the process could go on smoothly if Wontumi behaved well, saying that the NDC was committed to peace.

In a sharp rebuttal, Wontumi stated emphatically that he had never gotten involved in such an act claimed by Obimpeh, stressing that rather it was Yaw Obimpeh who was pushing one CD, to intimidate the NPP agents and also disrupt the registration process.

The NPP Regional Chairman argued that the Ashanti Region is the NPP’s stronghold and so his party stood the greater chance of garnering more votes in the area than the NDC and therefore it would be unwise on his part to foment trouble and disrupt the registration exercise.

The two top notch politicians, by their demeanour, looked very angry and not ready to accept whatever the other would said, but DCOP Kofi Boakye, who commands a lot of respect in the region, made them shake hands and hug each other in the end.

In his remarks, DCOP Kofi Boakye, without mincing words, accused the NPP and the NDC of hiring thugs to visit some selected registration centres such as Sepe Timpom and Abrotia, to intimidate EC staff, party agents and would-be voters.

He said grapevine reports indicated that on Thursday some thugs smashed the registration machine and also stabbed another man, adding that one CD, said to belong to the NDC, who is the prime suspect, had been arrested by the police to author his statement.

DCOP Kofi Boakye said so far, the police had treated all reports of ‘macho men’ disrupting the registration exercise as allegation since nobody, including the EC, had visited the police to report with concrete evidence for them to conduct full-scale investigation into such matters.

He entreated those making wild allegations to produce evidence so that the police could deal with those trying to foment trouble.

FROM I.F. Joe Awuah Jnr., Kumasi

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