The Ashanti regional branch of the National Democratic Congress has called on President Akufo-Addo to caution Chairman Wontumi over his attacks on the NDC running mate.

The Ashanti Regional Chairman of the ruling NPP is reported to have attacked the person of Professor Jane Naana Opoku Agyemang after she was named as running mate by former President John Mahama.

In a statement, the NDC in the Ashanti region said they are counting on the President intervene in the matter before they decide on their next line of action.

“We are by this release calling on the President, Nana Addo Dankwah Akufo Addo and the National leadership of the NPP to call to order Mr. Bernard Antwi Boasiako and warn him to put a stop to character assassination of political opponents especially women. A stop to attacks on women in politics will encourage their participation in decision making and this will also help Ghana to achieve the United Nation’s SDG 5 of gender equality even before the 2030 target set by the UN,” the statement signed by the party’s regional chairman Augustus Andrews said.

It also called on the ruling party to condemn the statement.

We are also scandalized by the deafening silence of the NPP leadership and the President of the Republic on this unfortunate assault on the person of Professor Jane Naana Opoku- Agyemang, and to a larger extent all women of Ghana. We hope the loud silence of the NPP leadership is not a subtle endorsement of the Mr. Bosiako’s misconduct.

Below are details of the statement

We have ignored Mr. Bernard Antwi Boasiako (Wontumi), the Ashanti Regional Chairman of NPP for many years because we understand his obvious personal deficiencies in our political space makes him feel inferior. His lack of capacity to be analytical, thorough and factual in any political discourse has compelled him to carve for himself a rather rare niche of direct insults at accomplished personalities. We however feel it is unfair to be permanent victims of Mr. Boasiako’s incapacitation.

We sincerely sympathize with the NPP for choosing to be intimidated by Mr. Boasiako’s thuggery and unprocessed personality for which reason no decent person with leadership capacity contested for the Ashanti Regional Chairmanship position in their recent past election for fear of his personality being maligned and assaulted by Mr. Boasiako in the process.

After years of tolerance, we have decided to be blunt with our colleagues who have allowed themselves to be bullied by a clown to assume a leadership role that is exclusive for men of honour, dignity, integrity and appreciable level of capacity.

We are aware of Mr. Boasiako’s established folly, but we are exceptionally pained about his new choice of victim, Professor Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang. At a time affirmative action has traversed rhetorics, those who pay lip service to women empowerment should not derail others who have taken steps to encourage and empower women of substance to great heights.

We are also scandalized by the deafening silence of the NPP leadership and the President of the Republic on this unfortunate assault on the person of Professor Jane Naana Opoku- Agyemang, and to a larger extent all women of Ghana. We hope the loud silence of the NPP leadership is not a subtle endorsement of the Mr. Bosiako’s misconducts.

We are by this release calling on the President, Nana Addo Dankwah Akufo Addo and the National leadership of the NPP to call to order Mr. Bernard Antwi Boasiako and warn him to put a stop to character assassination of political opponents especially women. A stop to attacks on women in politics will encourage their participation in decision making and this will also help Ghana to achieve the United Nation’s SDG 5 of gender equality even before the 2030 target set by the UN.

We also wish to encourage Professor Jane Naana Opoku- Agyemang and all other women who felt attacked by the outburst of the Ashanti Regional Chairman of the NPP to remain resolute and push the affirmative action agenda so they can have their seat at the decision making table.
Remember the more gender balanced the decision table, the better the inclusiveness of the decision and the better the outcome.

Long live Ghanaian women, Long live Ghana!

Signed,
Augustus Andrews
(Regional Chairman )