Paul Adom-Otchere Reveals Alleged Conversation with Chairman Wontumi Over GH₵50 Million COCOBOD Payment.
Ghanaian media personality and former Board Chairman of the Ghana Airports Company Ltd (GACL), Paul Adom-Otchere, has disclosed details of an alleged conversation with Bernard Antwi Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi, the Ashanti Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP).
This revelation comes in response to allegations that the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) paid GH₵50 million to Wontumi’s company, Hallmark Engineering, for a road construction project during the final days of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo's administration. Wontumi has vehemently denied the claim, calling it “mere propaganda.”
Speaking on his Good Evening Ghana show on June 4, 2025, Adom-Otchere recalled asking Wontumi directly:
“My concern when speaking to him and his associates was, ‘Chairman, why did you take \$45 million from COCOBOD and not construct the road? What does that mean?’”
According to Adom-Otchere, Wontumi responded:
“Me? Have you ever heard of COCOBOD giving out advance payments for road construction? You build the road first, then you get paid. All of these stories are just propaganda.”
Adom-Otchere also raised the issue of allegations that Wontumi drives stolen cars. He said:
“I asked him, ‘What about the cars?’ And he told me, ‘I’ve informed EOCO who I bought the cars from. All my vehicles were purchased in Ghana. If anyone claims they’re stolen, go ask them. What wrong have I done?’”
He reiterated Wontumi’s position that COCOBOD does not issue upfront payments to contractors, but rather pays after the completion and verification of the project.
Media reports had earlier claimed that Wontumi’s company received a large payment from COCOBOD despite a directive from the Chief of Staff, Julius Debrah, to halt such disbursements during the transition period. Wontumi, however, denied the reports.
“It is absolutely untrue that I collected money from COCOBOD,” he told journalists in Accra on May 26, shortly after being granted bail in a separate illegal mining case.
He clarified that, like most government contractors, his company pre-financed the project:
“Government doesn’t pay upfront for road construction. You use your own money, and reimbursement only comes after the road is completed and evaluated.”
He further explained that engineers from the Ghana Highways Authority and COCOBOD assess completed projects and determine payments based on the agreed contract terms:
“The contract stipulates payment within 28 days of completion, but COCOBOD took nearly three years to pay. They cannot say they don’t owe me.”
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