As Bawumia’s camp moves against Agyapong loyalists in Ashanti
By Gifty Boateng
The aftermath of January’s NPP presidential primary is reshaping parliamentary selections in the Ashanti Region. Two MPs who backed Ken Agyapong are facing removal, with a broadcaster and a former attorney-general emerging as preferred replacements.
Ejisu MP Kwabena Boateng, a lawyer who succeeded the late John Kumah in March 2024, claims party insiders are orchestrating his ouster. His offence: supporting Agyapong in the 31 January poll. The same fate awaits Nhyieaso’s Dr Stephen Amoah, known as ‘Sticka’, who told associates after Agyapong’s defeat that he expected retribution.
Two names have surfaced. For Ejisu, Metro TV’s Paul Adom-Otchere whose wife recently marked her 50th birthday in style is being positioned despite limited local recognition. For Nhyieaso, former Attorney-General Diana Asonaba Dapaah is the favoured candidate. A third name, Helena Mensah, is also in circulation.
The architect appears to be Ashanti Regional chairman Bernard Antwi Boasiako (‘Chairman Wontumi’), acting on behalf of flagbearer Dr Mahamudu Bawumia.
This is awkward for Wontumi, who faces his own legal troubles with the state over alleged illegal mining, even as he nurses national chairman ambitions.
Long-time NPP watchers note the pattern. The Akufo-Addo faction, they recall, systematically marginalised supporters of Alan Kyerematen and John Kufuor. The casualty list includes Richard Anane, Paul Afoko, Sammy Crabbe, Kwabena Agyapong, Eugene Boakye Antwi, Dr Dickson Adomako Kissi, Andy Appiah Kubi and Andrew Amoako Asiamah.
Boakye Antwi’s current bid for general secretary faces not competence questions but his outspoken role leading Parliament’s ‘Ken Must Go’ movement. He lost his Subin seat already; now national office may elude him too.
Not everyone is compliant. Regional figure Abraham Boadi (‘Opooman’) has warned publicly that constituency albums are being altered to facilitate the changes. Broadcaster Nana Jantuah, who claims kinship with Boateng, warns he will campaign for the NDC across Ashanti if the MP is removed.
“The reason I made NDC popular and NPP unpopular in Ashanti before,’ Jantuah said, ‘was that they attacked me. If they touch Kwabena Boateng, it will be worse than Aduomi’s by-election.’
Dr Ayew Afriyie, Bawumia’s regional campaign coordinator, has openly declared that Ejisu has ‘two MPs Helena and the incumbent’, promising a change. Constituency delegates accused Afriyie in January of spreading falsehoods about Boateng, claiming the feud dates to the 2024 primary where Mensah described as Afriyie’s partner lost despite ‘extensive state power, resources and financial backing’.
The subtext is clear: loyalty to the new flagbearer is non-negotiable. For Boateng and Amoah, the lesson may be that backing the wrong candidate carries a parliamentary price.