Odike narrates how Akufo-Addo's delegation was disappointed after visiting Wontumi farms

The Founder and Leader of the United Progressive Party (UPP), Akwasi Addai Odike has recounted how former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo allegedly left disappointed after visiting the farm of convicted Ashanti Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Bernard Antwi-Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi.

According to Odike, Wontumi, who is also standing trial over allegations that he caused a financial loss of more than GH¢30 million to the Ghana Export-Import Bank (GEXIM) by allegedly diverting funds meant for agricultural purposes to personal use, failed to impress the former President during the visit.

"I had constructed roads during Akufo-Addo's tenure, but I had not been paid. Around that time, Amoako Atta, who was then the Roads Minister, had come to Kumasi, and Nana Akufo-Addo, the then President, was also in town. They were going to Wontumi's farm, the same farm that is now in the news.

"Osei Assibey was the Mayor at the time, and he asked me to sit in his car because they were going to Wontumi's farm. He said I might get the opportunity there to speak to them about my money, "he said.

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Odike claimed that Akufo-Addo and his delegation found the farm poorly maintained, with overgrown weeds and a maize plantation that had largely dried up.

Speaking in an interview on CTV, excerpts of which have been shared on social media, Odike said he joined the presidential convoy after hoping to use the opportunity to speak to the President and his then former Roads Minister Akwasi Amoako Attah about unpaid road contracts.

"So, we went to the farms at Nsuta-Kwamang-Beposo. A Council of State member who had a neighbouring farm had done very well. His maize had grown beautifully because he was using modern irrigation. But Wontumi's farm was different. Almost all the maize had dried up, “ he said.

“Akufo-Addo simply left the place and went to sit in his car because the farm had not been properly maintained. It was full of weeds, and the maize had been destroyed.

"That was the day I expected Akufo-Addo to say something to Wontumi, but he said nothing and walked straight to his car. The farm was not in a flood-prone area, yet the Council of State member whose farm bordered Wontumi's had managed his farm well. He even had a large warehouse where they stored their produce, and they opened it for Akufo-Addo to inspect. But he never said anything. I felt he was angry, “the former presidential aspirant added.

Wontumi's Conviction

Chairman Wontumi was sentenced to 20 years' imprisonment after Criminal Court 4 of the High Court found him guilty on all six charges brought against him.

In a judgment delivered on Monday, July 20, 2026, Justice Audrey Kocuvie-Tay ordered that the prison terms run concurrently. The court also fined Wontumi 10,000 penalty units on each of the six counts.

Akonta Mining Limited, which was also convicted on two counts, was fined 15,000 penalty units on each count.

The convictions were secured under the Minerals and Mining Act, 2006 (Act 703), as amended by the Minerals and Mining (Amendment) Act, 2020 (Act 995), which prescribes stiffer penalties for illegal mining-related offences.

Chairman Wontumi, Akonta Mining Limited, and a third accused person, Kwame Antwi, were prosecuted over alleged illegal mining activities on the company's concession at Samreboi in the Western Region.

According to the prosecution, the accused unlawfully assigned mineral rights on the concession without the approval of the sector minister and facilitated mining activities without the required authorization, contrary to the provisions of the Minerals and Mining Act.

GEXIM Bank Trial

Separately, Chairman Wontumi and Thomas Antwi-Boasiako, a director of Wontumi Farms Limited, are standing trial over allegations of fraud involving the Ghana Export-Import Bank (GEXIM).

Prosecutors allege that the two used false pretences to obtain GH¢14,302,000 from the bank. Chairman Wontumi is also accused of forging a document to fraudulently secure an additional GH¢4,000,000 and of laundering part of the funds. The prosecution further alleges that the transactions caused a financial loss of more than GH¢30 million to the state.

He has pleaded not guilty to four counts of defrauding by false pretence, forgery, money laundering, and intentionally causing financial loss to a public body.

According to the prosecution, Chairman Wontumi applied in January 2018, in his capacity as Managing Director of Wontumi Farms Limited, for a GH¢19 million facility to finance a farming project. The application was accompanied by a board resolution purportedly authorizing the loan.

However, investigators allege that the resolution was dated January 23, 2018, but referred to a board resolution supposedly passed on December 9, 2017, four days before Wontumi Farms Limited was incorporated on December 14, 2017.

The application also claimed that the company had secured 100,000 acres of land and that the first phase of the project would employ about 6,000 families, representing approximately 38,000 people.

On January 16, 2018, GEXIM approved a combined loan and grant facility totaling GH¢18,734,260 for agricultural machinery, working capital, staff costs, and consultancy services. By March 2018, the bank had disbursed GH¢14,302,000 to Wontumi Farms Limited.

The prosecution further alleges that Chairman Wontumi later submitted a document marked "Receipt," claiming the company had purchased GH¢4,000,000 worth of agricultural machinery. Relying on the document, the bank released additional funds.

Investigators, however, contend that the document was not a genuine receipt but a pro-forma invoice issued by KAS-SAMA Enterprise after Chairman Wontumi had inquired about equipment prices. They allege the words "Pro-forma Invoice" were altered and replaced with the word "Receipt."

According to the prosecution, investigations also established that none of the proposed farming activities was carried out. It alleges that no agricultural machinery was purchased, no workers were employed, and the land presented to the bank as secured for the project had neither been acquired nor leased by the company.

Instead, prosecutors claim Chairman Wontumi withdrew substantial sums from the company's bank accounts and used the funds for personal purposes, including investments in other business ventures.

The allegations remain before the court, and Chairman Wontumi has denied any wrongdoing.

@olando_one Odike has exposed Chairman Wontumi #fyp #politics #ghanatiktok🇬🇭 #trendingvideo #goviral ♬ original sound - Olando Gh

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