The Office of the Attorney-General has opposed an application seeking to delay judgment in the criminal trial involving Ashanti Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party, Bernard Antwi Boasiako, widely known as Chairman Wontumi, over allegations of illegal mining in Samreboi.

The application was filed by the accused's new legal counsel, Samuel Atta Akyea, who recently took over the defence.

In response, the Attorney-General's Office has filed an affidavit urging the court to reject the request and allow the case to proceed to judgment without further delay.

The affidavit, sworn by Senior State Attorney Nana Ama Prempeh, argues that the application is without merit, maintaining that Chairman Wontumi had legal representation throughout the trial.

According to the prosecution, the withdrawal of the accused's previous lawyer was a voluntary decision and does not constitute sufficient grounds to postpone the delivery of judgment.

The State also questioned the conduct of the defence, alleging that the decision by Mr. Atta Akyea to obtain the court records directly from the registry, instead of requesting them from the former legal team, was not undertaken in good faith.

The Attorney-General's Office is therefore asking the court to dismiss the application and continue with the proceedings as scheduled.