Kwabena Agyapong threatens to sue Wontumi
The suspended General Secretary of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), Mr Kwabena Agyei Agyapong, is demanding an unqualified apology from the NPP’s Ashanti Regional Chairman, Bernard Antwi Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi.
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In a notice served by his lawyers, Mr Sarfo Gyamfi and Associates, Mr Agyapong is also asking Chairman Wontumi to retract a slanderous statement made against his person.
In a swift response, Chairman Wontumi maintained that any move to reinstate Mr Agyapong would trigger a major backlash and cause uproar within the party.
Chairman Wontumi is on record to have said on Neat FM that “Over my dead body; I will never allow Kwabena Agyapong to get reinstated as the NPP General Secretary. This cannot happen...last year by this time, some people were working very hard to see the NPP lose the election, and Kwabena Agyapong was one of them...”.
Slanderous statement
Lawyers for Mr Agyapong are asking Chairman Wontumi to retract the slanderous statement made against their client and his “tacit assurance that never again will you ever conduct yourself in such an unfortunate manner”.
The lawyers for the embattled general secretary contend that Chairman Wontumi's claims are only meant to expose him (Agyapong) to ridicule, distrust and contempt by all and sundry, especially members of the NPP who supported and even voted for him.
They have, therefore, given Chairman Wontumi till tomorrow, Friday, November 3, 2017, to retract and apologise for the defamatory and unsavory remarks he made against Mr Kwabena Agyapong on the same platforms he used; Nhyira FM in Kumasi and Accra-based Neat FM.
Chairman Wontumi, however, claimed he had not regretted making those statements and “would never ever apologise to Mr Agyapong if that is what he is looking for”.
He commended Sarfo Gyamfi and Associates for the good work they were doing for their client but promised that the instructions he had received from them would never be obeyed.
Internal party matter
“The lawyers are doing their work well but unfortunately, this is an internal party matter and I am speaking the mind of the party to Kwabena who knows very well that the party and I wouldn’t welcome him back. So get the message clear; I will never apologise to Kwabena Agyapong,” Chairman Wontumi said.
Earlier this year, an awkward encounter ensued between the two at the inaugural ceremony of President Akufo-Addo, which caught the attention of several dignitaries who attended the function.
Upon spotting Mr Kwabena Agyapong seated among guests at the ceremony grounds, Chairman ‘Wontumi’ personally told the suspended general secretary to vacate his seat, since his presence at the venue wasn’t needed.
The furore caught the attention of some people who swiftly moved in to calm tempers.
The bad blood between both stalwarts reared its ugly head again last week after Chairman ‘Wontumi’ went to town vowing to do everything possible to prevent Mr Agyapong from being reinstated as the NPP’s scribe.