Alexander Afenyo-Markin, the Minority Leader in Parliament, has declared that New Patriotic Party (NPP) Members of Parliament will boycott parliamentary proceedings and sleep at the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) in support of detained NPP Ashanti Regional Chairman Bernard Antwi Boasiako, also known as Chairman Wontumi.
“Until EOCO does the right thing, we on the NPP side will protest by leaving Parliament and joining him. On Thursday, May 30, Afenyo-Markin stated on the floor of Parliament, “We’re all going to sleep there with him.”
The walkout followed EOCO’s decision to detain Wontumi after he failed to meet a GHS50 million bond requirement with two sureties, which his legal team regards as excessive.
Wontumi was arrested on May 27 as part of an ongoing investigation into potential financial irregularities at EXIMBANK.
Afenyo-Markin criticised the bail conditions, asking how a private citizen could pay such a costly requirement. “We don’t have GHS50 million worth of property. “Where will he get it from?” he enquired.
He emphasised that the protest is not an attempt to obstruct justice, but rather a plea for fairness and equal treatment under the law. ” Do your work while respecting the law.
He cautioned EOCO. “When it got to this matter of Chairman Wontumi, Parliament was united.”