An NPP aspirant for Korley Klottey, Osu, Lawyer Philip Addison, says he did not create the perception that the party’s national chairman and general secretary are working against the presidential bid of Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.
According to him, he was only pointing out the fact that it was time for the two national officers—Paul Afoko and Kwabena Agyei Agyepong—to take steps to assure the rank and file of the party that they stood for the NPP’s victory in the 2016 general election.
Mr Addison was quoted by Joy FM on Monday as saying that “There is a perception out there that they are working against the presidential candidate and it is a very strong perception. The burden is on them to discharge that perception. The ball is in their court to prove otherwise.”
He went further to disagree with those calling on the leadership of the party to sideline Messrs Afoko and Agyepong in the 2016 campaign and said the party needed a united front for the battle ahead.
His comment appeared to have generated heated debate in the party, with those sympathetic to the two national officers accusing the lead counsel for the petitioners in the landmark presidential election petition of joining those who are bent on sidelining Messrs Afoko and Agyepong.
Mr Addison, however, told Daily Guide yesterday that his statement was innocuous and could not be interpreted as undermining the authority of the national officers.
“I would have wished those criticising me could get the full tape so that they can make their own conclusions,” he said.
“It was an interview I had with the reporter and he said that the perception in our party is that Afoko (Paul) and Kwabena (Agyepong) are working against Nana Akufo-Addo and I said yes that perception is there. That was all I said and people are trying to attack me for this,” he added.
He stated: “I believe that this is not the first time somebody has made such a statement. The perception has always been there. I did not create that perception like they are now trying to do. It has always been there. I did not go overboard. I just said it like it is. I have said nothing that is new.”
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