According to him, though the NPP has petitioned the Supreme Court seeking to invalidate the declaration of John Mahama as president-elect by the Electoral Commission due to an alleged rigging of the elections, his participation of the event, does not undermine the NPP's case in court.
The former President reiterated that he was solidly behind the court action by the NPP challenging the election results and hopes Nana Akufo-Addo would someday lead the nation.
“It has always been my fervent prayer that Nana Addo should be sworn in as president of Ghana”, ex-president Kufuor has said.
The former president admittedly stated that he knows he has incurred the wrath of some members in the NPP for gracing the national event that saw John Mahama being sworn in as president of the Republic.
He explained that though several calls were placed at his doorstep not to add colour to the event because the NPP was fighting in court to ensure the presidency of Mahama is invalidated, he decided to attend the event because he has grown out of the partisan politics and metamorphosed into a national asset that every political party can access in times of need.
Speaking on Okay FM and subsequently on Peace FM, the former commander in chief of the Ghana Armed Forces stated that “leadership doesn’t come on a silver platter and my feat would be dismantled if I let the nation down and favour my own children”.
Giving a detailed explanation on why he chose to break ranks and attend the occasion, ex-president Kufuor noted that “at all times, the good of the nation comes first before my party”.
A group of NPP activists tried to hold Mr Kufuor 'hostage' when they besieged his Airport West residence to prevent him from attending the inauguration of President Mahama.
The attempt by the supporters came after a similar one from a pro-NPP group Young Patriots who vowed to restrain the former President from attending the inauguration owing to the petition sent by the party leadership to the Supreme Court, contesting the outcome of the 2012 polls.
The group believed that the former president's presence at the function will not only compromise the NPP's petition sent to the Supreme Court but also defeat the opposition party's resolve to boycott the inauguration.
“I was sad to see the young lads gather in front of my house. The previous night I had hardly slept 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 the ‘nation’.
I assured them I will never in any point in time stab my own party in the back...I am solidly behind the court decision the party has taken and I pray God grants the judges wisdom to rule fairly”, Mr. Kufuor said.
source: Peacefm
