My experience is my certificate, not English fluency – Wontumi defends NPP chairmanship bid

Bernard Antwi Boasiako, the three-time Ashanti Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party, has mounted a spirited defence of his bid for the party’s national chairmanship, insisting that leadership is defined by service and results rather than command of the English language.

In an interview on Asempa FM’s Ekosii Sen show, the man widely known as Chairman Wontumi pushed back against critics who have questioned his academic credentials and fluency in English, framing the debate as a distraction from the party’s central objective: recapturing power in the 2028 general elections.

“People saying I don’t speak good English doesn’t stop me. I’m unperturbed,” he declared. “I’m not in the national chairmanship race for an English-speaking competition. I’m in it to serve the people, and I will always speak the language the grassroots understand.”

The comments mark Wontumi’s most forceful public intervention yet in what is shaping up to be a closely watched internal contest. His candidacy has stirred debate within NPP circles about what qualifications should matter most in party leadership — a conversation that touches on deeper questions about elitism, accessibility, and the relationship between the party’s professional class and its rank-and-file supporters.

Wontumi argued that the NPP’s recent electoral history offers a cautionary tale about prioritising polished credentials over grassroots connection. “We had elite leaders for the 2024 elections, and we lost, so why don’t we try the grassroots as well?” he asked pointedly.

The remark was an unmistakable reference to the party’s defeat in the 2024 presidential and parliamentary elections, a result that triggered a period of internal recrimination and leadership soul-searching. Wontumi positioned himself as a candidate uniquely equipped to bridge the divide between the party’s intellectual wing and its base of ordinary supporters.

“My certificate is my experience. I have been in this for 20 years. I have been the regional chairman three consecutive times. I have the party constitution at heart,” he said, adding that his election would send a powerful signal to party members that commitment and hard work can lead to leadership positions regardless of educational background.

“If I am made chairman, it will debunk all the allegations that if you don’t have a certificate, you can’t rise in the ranks in the NPP. It will give everyone hope that if you work well at the party, you can be promoted to higher positions,” he stated.

The pledge to unite different factions of the party was a recurring theme in the interview. Wontumi promised to foster stronger collaboration between the party’s grassroots base and its academic and professional members. “The grassroots, for the first time, will partner with academia. I am going to be a chairman for everyone — a working chairman, a grassroots chairman, and a listening chairman,” he said.

He also acknowledged the party’s need for internal reform, pledging to address the organisational weaknesses that contributed to its 2024 setback. “I am coming to alleviate us from the pain of the election we lost. We have learned from our mistakes, and we are going to correct all of them,” he said.

Wontumi’s candidacy is expected to face competition from other senior party figures, though the full field of contenders has yet to be confirmed. The NPP’s national executives election will be a critical test of the party’s direction as it seeks to rebuild and mount a credible challenge in the 2028 cycle.

Whether the grassroots message will resonate with delegates remains to be seen, but Wontumi has made clear he intends to make the case that the party’s path back to power runs through its base, not its boardrooms.

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