‘You’ve befriended Sahel state leaders and want to introduce lawlessness in Ghana’

The Member of Parliament for New Juaben South, Michael Okyere Baafi has accused President John Dramani Mahama of being negatively influenced by his friendship with the three Sahelian presidents.

According to him, President Mahama’s association with the Presidents of Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso has had a negative impact on him for which reason the politicians must stand up and stop such occasions.

“President John Dramani Mahama has now made friends with the Sahelian countries who are fond of coups. So they want to change Ghana’s constitution and introduce lawlessness. That is what has been visited on the people and we politicians have to fight it,” Okyere Baafi said in an interview with Movement TV as captured in a video shared on social media demanding the release of the Ashanti Regional Chairman of the NPP, Chairman Wontumi.

Okyere Baafi criticised the Mahama led government for the GH₵50million bail imposed on Chairman Wontumi by the Economic and Organised Crime Office. (EOCO)

“We came in peace. Our issue is that if Chairman Wontumi has violated the law and he has been charged he should be sent to court. The bail condition must be reduced, Wontumi is a member of the NPP and he will not flee this country. You don’t need to create unnecessary tension and embarrassment for the government and the State. We are warning that if Chairman Wontumi is not released today, we will causes a lot of problems in this country.”

Chairman Wontumi was granted bail on Tuesday, May 27, requiring GH₵50 million with two justified sureties, following his arrest by EOCO on suspicions of fraud, money laundering, and other financial crimes. Until Friday, his team had only secured one surety.

His legal team confirmed on Friday that they had fulfilled the GH₵50 million bail conditions set by EOCO.

However, his lawyer, Andrew Appiah-Kubi, revealed that despite meeting the bail conditions, Wontumi’s release has been stalled due to a fresh legal application filed earlier in the day.

“My client is not going home tonight. We encountered a challenge that needs to be addressed before we can move forward,” he explained.

“Unknown to me, an application was filed to frustrate what we are doing. We will deal with it on Monday. It is an application that was not filed by me, but it has prohibited his release,” Appiah-Kubi noted.

KA