‘Prodigal’ former New Patriotic Party (NPP) Constituency Chairman for Klottey Korley in the Greater Accra Region, Valentino Nii Noi Nortey has clarified his reason for rendering an unqualified apology to the president and other key members of the party discounting claims he wants to be given a position.
He said his apology was to show remorse for being impervious to advice of some elderly in the party since as a young man he still has a brighter future ahead of him in the political landscape.
“I did not apologize because I am seeking favours or want to be appointed to a position in the new government. I see the NPP as my mother party which is a fact I cannot run away from. I just realized I had stepped on toes and that needed to apologize”, he disclosed.
According to him, he has realized his mistakes and therefore pleading for clemency from all those he might have offended in one way or the other indicating that he is back for good and has drawn several lessons from his mistakes.
Nii Noi who is seeking to be reconsidered into the NPP disclosed his unflinching love for the party despite going contrary to its regulations by standing as an independent parliamentary candidate soon after losing to Lawyer Philip Addison in the delayed constituency primaries in 2016.
“I really love my party and I can’t turn my back on it. It’s rather unfortunate it ended up this way but I’m only asking for forgiveness,” he begged.
Nii Noi it would be recalled claimed his decision to go independent was based on the fact that he was unfairly treated by the party and its executives at the time.
He won the first primary organized by the party on August 2 2015; however, Counsel for the NPP in the 2012 Presidential petition case, Phillip Addison, who was a defeated aspirant, sued the NPP at the High Court, demanding annulment of the results.
An Accra High Court dismissed an application filed by the disputed Parliamentary Candidate, Nii Noi Nortey, which sought to set aside a default judgment thereby setting the pace for the opposition.
But all efforts including an intervention by Former President John Agyekum Kufuor and the then flagbearer of the party Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to compel him step aside as an independent candidate failed until he went through the polls and performed abysmally.
Commenting on the development for the first time publicly, he said “It hasn’t been easy… I will like to use this opportunity to forgive anybody who opposed me and also anyone who I might have offended. When you are young you get people telling you to do all manner of things. However, I want to use this opportunity to ask for forgiveness and especially my political godfather – former President J. A Kufuor. He even called me to rescind my decision [to go independent] but there were a lot of circumstances on the ground which didn’t allow that.”
“I want to use this opportunity to apologise to the President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo because he also called me to rescind my decision and I didn’t listen. I must say it wasn’t an issue of disobedience, “but there was a lot of politics on the ground which I can’t go into’
“Yes, I regret going independent. The circumstances which led to that were unfortunate. In life sometimes you have to make some tough decisions. I’m really sorry to the big men I failed to heed their advice”
“I’m apologizing to these big men – Nana Addo, Kufuor, Bawumia – including Anthony Karbo, Mustapha Hamid for all my actions.”
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