Don’t panic; I won’t contest any elections – Nii Noi tells NPP executives

Valentino Nii Noi Nortey, former ruling NPP chairman of the Korle Klottey constituency says he has no intentions of contesting any form of election following his efforts to return to the party again.

He claimed his attempts to build bridges with the party after the hostility that characterized the December elections is practically in the interest of a better intra-party relations among the elephant family within the constituency.

Nii Noi, who’s being tagged as the prodigal son by his compatriots said the insecurities and anxieties by current party executives have reached alarming levels for which reason his followers are being hounded and sidelined unnecessarily in the NPP.

But Speaking on State of Affairs on GHONE TV Friday, Nii Noi said he is no danger for the executives because he won’t contest for any post or elections as being speculated by some elements within the party.

“Currently contesting an election is not in my plans now. Let me make this clear! A lot of party people are going through a lot. They are being victimized and all that in the constituency just because they have love for me and all that. In the constituency, everyday I get calls and people whatsapp me and all that, they’ve been given letters by the Constituency secretary, they’ve been sacked from the party and all that because they perceived these people supported me. But you can’t tell who voted for who on the ballot paper, because nobody’s name is written on the ballot paper. I think the Constituency Chairperson, Madam Juliana Aboagye has addressed these issues and I think she wrote back a letter to the people saying nothing is happening and all that.

“…But to be honest with you, the fears of the people who feel a group of people should be pushed out from the Executive positions or polling station executives or from the constituency are genuine. They feel these people if they are there, there will be another primaries and they won’t support their candidate, but I want to assure them on this big platform that I’m not ready now to contest any elections. So i want to assure them now that it’s not necessary, all those infighting going on, because for now I’m not interested in contesting any elections.”

Nii Noi Nortey, former ruling NPP chairman of the Korle Klottey constituency is begging for mercy from President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, following his intransigence in going independent during the 2016 elections.

The popular grassroot politician, won the initial primaries to contest the parliamentary seat on the ticket of the then opposition NPP, but his main contender Philip Addison challenged the outcome of that election in court and won.

In the rerun organized by the party, Lawyer Philip Addison won and became the party’s Parliamentary candidate. An aggrieved Nii Noi Nortey then contested the poll as an independent candidate much against the will of the party as he was prevailed upon by many bigwigs to rescind his decision. At the poll, both Nii Noi Nortey and Addison lost to the NDC’s Zanetor Rawlings.

But Nii Noi confessed that he regrets his decision and must be forgiven.

“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,” the young politician opined. “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.”

He empasized: “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 was 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.”