Ghana MPs question legal education reforms and Wontumi loan‑fraud plea negotiations

Member of Parliament Vincent Ekow Assafuah warned that the transitional directives issued under Ghana’s new Legal Education Act risk reviving the abolished law‑school entrance examination. He said the guidelines allow universities to set their own entry criteria for the Pre‑Bar course, effectively re‑introducing a gate‑keeping test that Parliament had voted to eliminate.

In a separate case, MP Nana Agyei Baffour Awuah clarified that the decision by the defence of Ashanti Regional NPP Chairman Bernard Antwi‑Boasiako, known as Chairman Wontumi, to enter plea negotiations does not constitute an admission of guilt. The plea talks relate to an alleged GH₵14.3 million loan‑fraud involving the Ghana Export‑Import Bank and are proceeding under Ghana’s criminal procedure framework, which preserves the presumption of innocence.