Nii Noi is an opportunist; We don’t want him back at Klottey Korle - Executives

The leadership of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the Klottey Korle constituency in the Greater Accra region are not happy that their former chairman, Nii Noi Nortey was nurturing a desire to return to the party.

Nii Nortey after losing the Klottey Korle Parliamentary primary to Philip Addison in 2016 left the NPP and contested the general elections as an independent candidate but lost.

Philip Addison did not win either, as he was beaten by the National Democratic Congress’s Dr Zanetor Rawlings.

On his birthday on Wednesday he announced that he was taking steps to normalise ties with the NPP but responding, the executives have said they will kick against his return.

Read also: I’m taking steps to normalise ties with NPP — Nii Noi

“We don’t need him in Klottey Korle constituency, the national executives can go ahead and accept him but we don’t need him here. He can go to any constituency but we in Klottey Korle will not accept him,” a member of the Election and Research Committee of the party in the constituency, Mr Isaac Sarpong told Graphic Online on Friday.

Mr Sarpong said the NPP’s woes in the constituency during the 2016 elections was attributable to the actions of its former chairman, Nii Noi.

He said all attempts to prevent Nii Noi Nortey from leaving the party proved futile.

He claimed Mr Nortey damaged the image of the then flag- bearer Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and the party’s parliamentary aspirant in the person of Philip Addison’s image, which he said led to the party's defeat in the area.

“On what basis is he apologising, is it the throwing of stones by his supporters at Nana Addo or threatening and damaging the image of Lawyer Addison” he questioned.

He therefore called on Mr Nortey not to only apologise at the national level but also at the constituency level.

Mr Sarpong who is also a member of the communication team of the party, said the NPP lost the seat in the area because of the division at the time as a result of  Mr Nortey leaving the party.

He was therefore of the view that the former constituency chairman must re-apply if he really wants to come back, “if really he wants to come back, he would have to write to the party and then the party will forward it to the disciplinary committee which will look at it and then advise the steering committee to take a decision.”

Nii Noi Nortey earlier this week said he was taking steps to normalise ties with the party after he stood as an independent candidate in the constituency during the 2016 parliamentary elections.

He said he was planning to meet the elders of the party to formally render an apology and re-establish ties the party.

The move, Mr Sarpong described as that of an opportunist who would not have thought of returning to the party if the NPP had lost the elections.

He called on the national executives of the party to ensure that the right things were done since others such as Mr Kwebena Agyepong and Mr Paul Afoko were still on suspension.