I placed nation above party-Kufuor (Front page)
Former President J.A. Kufuor has explained that his decision to attend President John Dramani Mahama’s inauguration on Monday had been motivated by national interest rather than partisan considerations.
Deflating the claims that his decision to attend the inauguration was a betrayal of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), President Kufuor said he “chose the country over partisan interest”.
He said he had to make a difficult choice between the party he so much loved and the country he led, a position he articulated to the National Council of the NPP, which appreciated his position.
“Your country is calling you and the party says no. Where do you put your priority? I believe the call to national duty is very important,” he told Okay FM, an Accra-based radio station yesterday.
The former President joined a host of dignitaries, including his predecessor, former President J.J. Rawlings; a former United Nations General Secretary, Dr Kofi Annan, and Heads of State and Government from across the globe to witness President Mahama’s inauguration.
But the former President’s decision to attend the inauguration appeared to have irked some NPP sympathisers, who besieged his residence early Monday morning to prevent Mr Kufuor from leaving his house for the Independence Square where the inauguration took place.
“I will not turn my back on the NPP; it was the party that supported me to become President. The truth is that I’m an NPP founder member and the party supported me for Ghanaians to vote for me to become President and so I can’t turn my back on the NPP,” he asserted.
He said if he had boycotted the inauguration and the NPP won its case in the court, he would have to turn around and attend the same ceremony, adding that that action would paint him as a bad leader.
“My heart is in pain. It is my prayer that the flag bearer of my party, Nana Akufo-Addo, becomes President,” former President Kufuor said.
He said the 1992 Constitution was explicit on challenging electoral results and that it did not matter whether a President had been sworn-in — if the court found that the Electoral Commission (EC) did not live up to expectation, the decision could be overturned.
“Should the court declare the NPP flag bearer the winner and he has to be inaugurated; where will the country be heading should Mr Mahama and his people also say they will boycott the inauguration?” he asked.
The former President was also criticised by NPP sympathisers for embracing President Mahama during the inauguration, describing this action as an endorsement of the newly installed President, in spite of the NPP’s petition at the Supreme Court.
To that, former President Kufuor said he was not at loggerheads with President Mahama and that by the embrace, he had only extended a courtesy demanded by the occasion.
He stated that given the status he had attained as a former President of Ghana, it should not be his followers who should push him to take certain decisions.
Former President Kufuor said in spite of what had happened, he, as a statesman, needed to play the role expected of him by the nation.
On how he managed to handle the crowd that had gathered at his residence to prevent him from gracing the occasion, he said, “I was sad to see the young people gather in front of my house. The previous night I could hardly sleep and I could see the pain in their hearts too... I called them and asked them to choose between serving the entire nation and the party and they told me they would serve the nation.”
“I told them that I was fully in support of the court action that the matter should be looked into and that I pray that God grants the judges wisdom to rule fairly,” he added.
He said the party sympathisers did not misbehave as he left his residence for the inauguration with the security detail.
He urged Ghanaians to do the bidding of the Constitution.
“Let’s work with the Constitution. Even if there are disagreements, because we cannot all agree on the same issue, let’s use the law and the courts to decide because we don’t want any trouble in this country,” he stated.
To NPP supporters, former President Kufuor said, “Let us pray that our judges in the Supreme Court will be moved by the love of the country, be God-fearing and adjudicate the case in such a manner that in the end we will all work with the judgement to push the development of the country.”
Deflating the claims that his decision to attend the inauguration was a betrayal of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), President Kufuor said he “chose the country over partisan interest”.
He said he had to make a difficult choice between the party he so much loved and the country he led, a position he articulated to the National Council of the NPP, which appreciated his position.
“Your country is calling you and the party says no. Where do you put your priority? I believe the call to national duty is very important,” he told Okay FM, an Accra-based radio station yesterday.
The former President joined a host of dignitaries, including his predecessor, former President J.J. Rawlings; a former United Nations General Secretary, Dr Kofi Annan, and Heads of State and Government from across the globe to witness President Mahama’s inauguration.
But the former President’s decision to attend the inauguration appeared to have irked some NPP sympathisers, who besieged his residence early Monday morning to prevent Mr Kufuor from leaving his house for the Independence Square where the inauguration took place.
“I will not turn my back on the NPP; it was the party that supported me to become President. The truth is that I’m an NPP founder member and the party supported me for Ghanaians to vote for me to become President and so I can’t turn my back on the NPP,” he asserted.
He said if he had boycotted the inauguration and the NPP won its case in the court, he would have to turn around and attend the same ceremony, adding that that action would paint him as a bad leader.
“My heart is in pain. It is my prayer that the flag bearer of my party, Nana Akufo-Addo, becomes President,” former President Kufuor said.
He said the 1992 Constitution was explicit on challenging electoral results and that it did not matter whether a President had been sworn-in — if the court found that the Electoral Commission (EC) did not live up to expectation, the decision could be overturned.
“Should the court declare the NPP flag bearer the winner and he has to be inaugurated; where will the country be heading should Mr Mahama and his people also say they will boycott the inauguration?” he asked.
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| Former President Kufuor and Kofi Annan at the inauguaration |
The former President was also criticised by NPP sympathisers for embracing President Mahama during the inauguration, describing this action as an endorsement of the newly installed President, in spite of the NPP’s petition at the Supreme Court.
To that, former President Kufuor said he was not at loggerheads with President Mahama and that by the embrace, he had only extended a courtesy demanded by the occasion.
He stated that given the status he had attained as a former President of Ghana, it should not be his followers who should push him to take certain decisions.
Former President Kufuor said in spite of what had happened, he, as a statesman, needed to play the role expected of him by the nation.
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| Supporters of the NPP protesting in front of the former Prez residence |
On how he managed to handle the crowd that had gathered at his residence to prevent him from gracing the occasion, he said, “I was sad to see the young people gather in front of my house. The previous night I could hardly sleep and I could see the pain in their hearts too... I called them and asked them to choose between serving the entire nation and the party and they told me they would serve the nation.”
“I told them that I was fully in support of the court action that the matter should be looked into and that I pray that God grants the judges wisdom to rule fairly,” he added.
He said the party sympathisers did not misbehave as he left his residence for the inauguration with the security detail.
He urged Ghanaians to do the bidding of the Constitution.
“Let’s work with the Constitution. Even if there are disagreements, because we cannot all agree on the same issue, let’s use the law and the courts to decide because we don’t want any trouble in this country,” he stated.
To NPP supporters, former President Kufuor said, “Let us pray that our judges in the Supreme Court will be moved by the love of the country, be God-fearing and adjudicate the case in such a manner that in the end we will all work with the judgement to push the development of the country.”
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