Minority Members of Parliament on Thursday walked out of Parliament, promising to boycott all proceedings until authorities at the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) release the NPP Ashanti Regional Chairman, Bernard Antwi Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi.
Wontumi, who has been granted a GH¢50 million bail, has since been unable to meet the bail conditions; therefore, he has been in EOCO custody since his arrest on Tuesday. His arrest comes on the back of an ongoing investigation into alleged financial irregularities involving the EXIMBANK.
The protest was led by Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin, who called the development unfair. Together with his colleagues, they marched from Parliament to the premises of EOCO.
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“Do your work but respect the law. There are many people who have appeared before investigative agencies and they are treated with dignity,” Afenyo-Markin stated. “But the way we are treating ourselves, it will come back and haunt us in 2029. Let’s be careful,” he said.
His members also want the financial crimes office to vary the bail amount, as they say it is excessive.
“We don’t have GHS50 million worth of properties. Where is he going to get it from?” he asked. “Until EOCO does the right thing, we on the NPP side will protest by absenting ourselves from Parliament and joining him. We are all going to sleep there with him,” he said further.
The decision by the MPs to boycott Parliament comes amid similar protests by some members of the party at the EOCO premises on Tuesday.