Incarcerated Ashanti Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Bernard Antwi-Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi, has offered a formal apology to President John Dramani Mahama and First Lady Lordina Mahama over harsh remarks made during the 2024 general election campaign.
The apology, conveyed through his spokesperson Palgrave Boakye-Danquah during an interview on Accra-based Citi FM, forms part of a broader plea for the President to exercise his constitutional prerogative of mercy.
"The first call is to render an apology, and I think that is important. Former Chairman renders an apology to him if, at some stage, the conversations went overboard, which was never intended," Boakye-Danquah stated.
Clarifying the motive behind the move, Boakye-Danquah emphasized that the apology should not be seen as an assertion that political rivalry influenced the judicial outcome, but rather as a goodwill gesture aimed at reconciliation.
"Not at all. We are aware that in this country there are influences. If you are able to identify those influences and begin making amends, I think we build a better society for all of us to live in," he added.
Chairman Wontumi is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence after the Criminal Court 4 Division of the High Court found him guilty on all six counts related to illegal mining. He was prosecuted alongside Akonta Mining Limited and Kwame Antwi for unauthorized mining operations within the Samreboi Forest concession in the Western Region, including the unlawful assignment of mineral rights without ministerial approval.
