I Am Sorry -Bagbin

Minority Leader and Member of Parliament for Nadowli North, Hon Alban Kingsford Sumani Bagbin has broken his silence over statements he made on an Accra FM station concerning a purported conversation with certain West African presidents with an unqualified apology to all interest parties.

He especially apologised ?to all Ghanaians, President Kufuor, Ivorian President Laurent Gbagbo and their Burkina counterpart Blaise Campaori for the statements I made about them.? He also asked for forgiveness from the diplomatic community in Ghana, aware that the unfortunate incident does not only constitute a breach of confidence but also an act of irresponsibility on his part.

Mr. Bagbin admitted to the Network Herald in a telephone interview last Wednesday from Wa where he is currently campaigning and making donations of hospital equipment to health posts and fraternizing with his constituents at Nadowli that he erred in coming out with such an unfortunate issue that has assumed a national dimension for both media and private discussions.

He however dispelled rumours from a section for the media that he has gone into some ?Sadam like? hiding in defiance of the mood of the people. He explained the probable difficulty in getting through to him on his widely known cell-phone to the difficult terrain he had to traverse and also that for most of the time, he was far away in his home village Sombo, also some distance from Wa where reception to his phone is almost non-existent.

?I agree I erred and I apologise to all Ghanaians including the president but I am definitely not hiding? he said. He continued, ?John Mahama conveyed my views and it is surprising there are still publications that I am in hiding because of the statement?.

Cheerful but philosophical, the Minority Leader was sober enough to appreciate the tight corner he had placed himself in by admitting he made an irresponsible statement.