The Ashanti Regional Chairman of the National Peace Council, Professor Stephen Opuni Asiamah, has charged leadership of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) to be forthright and condemn the assault of a party member by Ashanti Regional Chairman Bernard Antwi Boasiako.

Mr Antwi Boasiako, known more commonly as Chairman Wontumi, allegedly slapped Manhyia North NPP MP Collins Owusu Amankwah, on Sunday May 1 at a registration centre at Krofrom in the Ashanti Region.

He was subsequently arrested by the Kumasi Police Tuesday May 3 when he turned himself in and processed for court Wednesday, May 4.

Supporters of Mr. Boasiako and the NPP besieged the headquarters of the police after his arerst, demanding his release.

In an interview with Accra FM on Wednesday May 4, the Acting Chairman of the NPP, Mr Freddie Blay, defended the action of the NPP supporters, saying it was a “show of solidarity”.

But Prof Asiamah, speaking on Ghana Yensom on Accra100.5FM Thursday May, disagreed with Mr Blay’s comments, saying: “Why can’t we call a spade a spade when somebody falls foul of the law? Because no matter what the MP did, there should be no justification for someone to assault him? Just how does a party chairman assault his MP? And then the national chairman comes and says: ‘We are coming to show solidarity with him’. So does the MP also not belong to the NPP?

“And these are some of the things going on that I think the NPP leadership must sit up. You say this and they say members of the Peace Council are affiliates of the NDC but we face the truth. We must say what must be said. I was not happy at all yesterday with my brother Freddie Blay’s utterances and posture on radio. I heard his voice and I wasn’t happy.

“It doesn’t bring peace. The man (Chairman Wontumi) has done something wrong. No matter who he is, let’s just tell him.”

He said the matter was an “intra-party problem” the NPP had failed to handle well, and asked the leadership of the party to do better in that regard.

“So, assuming it was between NPP and NDC, what would have happened? Fellows, we must sit up. We must sit up and ensure leadership. I am faulting the NPP; they must show leadership. They must show that the way things are going, that is not the way it should go, so that when another person does same, we can bring him to book. I don’t think what is going on is good for Ghana or NPP or for anybody. It is not right. When someone has done something wrong, let’s be bold and tell him and show him that we are distasteful of what he has done, so that it will not encourage others and the offender himself to go ahead and repeat it,” Prof Asiamah added.