Chairman Wontumi reportedly accused Mr. Agyepong of being a traitor in an interview on a Kumasi-based radio station, Nhyira FM, and also vowed not to allow the former secretary to be re-instated.

“Over my dead body; I will never allow Kwabena Agyepong 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 elections, and Kwabena Agyepong was one of them …,” Wontumi reportedly said in the interview.

[contextly_sidebar id=”eyDizNgnA0nex1AV2R6h1O5O1nDACkpS”]But unhappy with the comments, Mr. Agyepong is demanding a formal apology from the NPP Chairman.

In a letter through his Lawyers –Sarfo Gyamfi and Associates – and addressed to Wontumi, Mr. Agyepong asked for a retraction of the statements.

“Our client wishes to communicate to you in person that he is not a traitor, he has never been one and will never be.”

Apologize by November 3 else…

“…our instructions are to demand, which we hereby do, that you immediately cease and desist from further making of such slanderous and false statements and unnecessary inciting of the general public and for that matter members of the New Patriotic Party against our client. We further demand that you through the same media used to publish the mentioned defamatory statements, retract and apologize for the defamatory and unsavory remarks on our client on both Nhyira FM and Neat FM by Friday 3rd November 2017,” the letter stated.

Mr. Agyepong in the letter also demanded “a formal letter apologizing to our client and your very tacit assurance that never again will you ever conduct yourself in such an unfortunate manner.”

Why Agyepong was suspended

Mr. Agyepong was suspended in December 2015 for publicly rebelling against the party’s decision to indefinitely suspend the party’s National Chairman, Paul Afoko.

He was suspended alongside the party’s Second Vice Chairman, Sammy Crabbe.

The National Executive Committee of the party found him guilty of violating Article 3(D) of the party’s constitution which enjoins members to publicly uphold the decisions of the party, through various acts.

He was also accused of engaging in “unilateral actions and activities without consultation of, or authorization by the NEC [National Executive Council].”

More NPP members demand Agyepong’s reinstatement

Some members of the party recently besieged the NPP head office in Accra to demand the reinstatement of Mr. Agyepong.

The group expressed concerns that there were veiled attempts to expel Kwabena Agyapong from the party.

Below is the full letter lawyers of Agyepong wrote to Wontumi:

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By: Godwin Akweiteh Allotey/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @AlloteyGodwin

The post Wontumi hot for ‘defaming’ suspended Kwabena Agyepong appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

Citi News’ sources at the Flagstaff House say the group’s action was a clear disrespect to the President who appointed George Agyei as the Security Coordinator for the region.

[contextly_sidebar id=”MPK0ysdmAu14HCFzuQ7OWInN25tgj95N”]Chairman Wontumi is believed to have links with some members of the pro-NPP group which operates in the region.

Already, the Police in Kumasi have arrested five members of the Delta Force.

The five include Kwadwo Fosu Bamba, who is the Commander of the group, Awal Sadat Abubakar, Abubakar Sadiq Abdul Hameed, Jamil Issah and Hamza Mohammed.

Background

The angry Delta Force group stormed the premises of the Ashanti Regional Coordinating Council last Friday, demanding the removal of the Regional Security Coordinator, George Adjei.

They destroyed some properties in a bloody attack and forced the Security Coordinator out of his office.

The Security Coordinator was however saved by the timely intervention of the police. According to the group, they cannot work with the security coordinator, who they claim contributing nothing to the party’s victory.

Delta Force begs for forgiveness

The organizer of the Delta Force, Kwadwo Bamba, has subsequently apologized to President Nana Akufo-Addo and members of the party for the assault on George Agyei.

“We are begging the President… we are waiting for anything the President will say. We are ready to obey our President. I feel bad about the whole incident and I wish it will not happen again,” he assured.

Delta Force attacks require national security involvement

The Ashanti Regional Secretary of the NPP, Sam Pyne, had earlier said the development required national security involvement, rather than party leadership since the victim of the attack was a government appointee.

“It is not a party matter because it is not a party appointment. The person was appointed by the president to work for the nation Ghana. He wasn’t appointed to be an NPP officer. The group that went there was not authorized by the party to do that. The national security that is supposed to deal with that matter should deal with it. I condemn that action by the group, but national security should take it up. I’m going to have a discussion with leaders of the group and also the Regional Security Council are going to meet on that too,” he added.

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By: Sammi Wiafe/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Wontumi summoned by Nana Addo over Delta Force attacks appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

According to the party, Wontumi’s aide, Andy Owusu made the move in other to accuse the NDC of trying to rig December 7 polls for the President in the region.

The Police in Kumasi on Monday intercepted three bags stuffed with thumb-printed presidential ballot papers found at the Madison Lodge at TUC in Kumasi.

[contextly_sidebar id=”EeDVbpZ6rbMN8TELaUW95Edo78h08j37″]All the retrieved ballot papers which had thumb prints for President John Mahama, the presidential candidate of the NDC was later said to be fake.

But addressing the press on Monday, the National Organizer of the NDC, Kofi Adams said Wontumi’s aide spent two nights at the hotel where the material was intercepted.

“A hotel room that was booked by an aide of the regional chairman of New Patriotic Party for Ashanti Region, Chairman Wontumi to allow his business partners to spend a night or two there, where he [Wontumi] stayed himself as the report indicated, with a white lady, the next morning the chairman now moves with the Police to a very room that his own special assistant has spent the night and say there are thumb printed ballot papers there and that they were thumb printing ballot papers for President Mahama,” he claimed.

I have no hand in intercepted fake ballot papers

Meanwhile, Wontumi’s aide, Andy Owusu in a statement rejected the claims.

“I want to state unequivocally that until today, Monday, the 5th of December, I never knew of a hotel called Madison Lodge  let alone make a booking there. Besides that how could I have been so foolish or dumb to have booked hotel rooms for such operation and register with my real name,” he added.

Below is the full statement from Andy Owusu

Press Statement by Andy Owusu, Special Aide to Chairman Wontumi:
My attention has been drawn to a statement circulating on social media supposedly issued by one Evans Nuamah, said to be the manager of Madison Hotel, the place where some NDC thumb-printed ballot papers were seized earlier this morning.

The content of the statement is not only laughable but can also hardly pass the intelligence test.

First of all, the statement indicated that I, Andy Owusu, allegedly booked three rooms in the hotel to entertain my business partners.

It further stated that I came in with two bags on the night that I made the booking.

The statement further reads “Chairman Wontumi, on Sunday, led Police men and media to our hotel premises to the very room his assistant booked, only to be told they were thumb printed Ballot”

I want to state unequivocally that until today, Monday, the 5th of December, I never knew of a hotel called Madison Lodge  let alone make a booking there.

Besides that how could I have been so foolish or dumb to have booked hotel rooms for such operation and register with my real name.

Perhaps, such thing can only be done by people with such weak intelligentsia like those who issued that statement accusing me of planting those ballot papers.

Apart from this the author of the statement, perhaps being motivated by his heinous agenda, even failed to get the day right by stating that the incident happened on yesterday when in actual fact the police invaded the hotel today, Monday.

Also, our checks indicate that there is no such name called Evans Nuamah as the manager of the hotel. Our investigations have proven that the name of the hotel is Castro.

I will therefore like to place on record that I have never booked any hotel room neither have I stashed any ballot paper in a hotel as being speculated.

I want to tell the NDC faces behind this statement that any attempt to draw me into their evil plans will never succeed.
Signed

Andy Owusu

Special Aide to Mr. Bernard Antwi Boasiako

NPP Regional Chairman, Ashanti

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By: Godwin A. Allotey/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @AlloteyGodwin

The post Wontumi’s aide thumb-printed fake ballots – Kofi Adams appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

It ruled that the bill was passed by MPs in December without the requisite quorum and was therefore illegal.

Homosexual acts were already illegal, but the new law allowed for life imprisonment for “aggravated homosexuality” and banned the “promotion of homosexuality”.

Several donors have cut aid to Uganda since the law was adopted.

Uganda is a deeply conservative society where many people oppose gay rights and the sentence for homosexual acts has always been life imprisonment.

Earlier drafts of the anti-homosexuality act made it a crime not to report gay people – which would have made it impossible to live as openly gay – but this clause was removed.

However the legislation that was passed in parliament was “null and void”, the presiding judge at the Constitutional Court said, as not enough lawmakers had been present to vote on the bill.

The law, which was signed by President Yoweri Museveni in February, toughened up existing laws.

Lesbians were covered for the first time and those found living in a same-sex marriage could have been sentenced to life imprisonment.

“Justice prevailed, we won,” the AFP news agency quotes lawyer Nicholas Opiyo, who led the challenge, as saying.

Kosiya Kasibayo, a lawyer for the state, said a decision had not been made on whether to appeal the ruling in the Supreme Court, the Associate Press news agency reports.

Uganda’s anti-homosexuality act:

• Life imprisonment for gay sex, including oral sex
• Life imprisonment for “aggravated homosexuality”, including sex with a minor or while HIV-positive
• Life imprisonment for living in a same-sex marriage
• Seven years for “attempting to commit homosexuality”
• Between five and seven years in jail or a $40,700 (£24,500) fine or both for the promotion of homosexuality
• Businesses or non-governmental organisations found guilty of the promotion of homosexuality would have their certificates of registration cancelled and directors could face seven years in jail

Source: BBC

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