General News of Tuesday, 7 September 2010

Source: Peace FM

I did not deliberately ignore Nana Addo - Ogua Chief

The Omanhene of Oguaa Traditional area, Osabarima Nana Kwesi Atta ll, has also been explaining why he failed to acknowledge the presence of Nana Akufo-Addo during the celebration of the Fetu Afahye.

Former ace sports commentator and now a presidential aide, Nii Lantey Vanderpuije prevented the NPP leader and his entourage from greeting the government dignitaries, including the Paramount Chief (Omanhene) of the Oguaa Traditional Area, Osabarima Kwesi Atta II, on the account that President Mills was on his way to the durbar grounds.

Director of Communications at the Presidency, Koku Anyidoho, later told Citi FM that the president did not find it necessary to go round and share pleasantries with Nana Addo and everybody else because he had already been delayed by the Chiefs and the Asafo companies.

That action by the presidential aide, led Central Regional Secretary of the NPP, Mr. Kwamena Duncan, to conjecture that the cold shoulder treatment given to Nana Addo was because he had described President Mills as ‘Professor-do-little’, and it was a “master grand plan orchestrated” between the “NDC, the Castle and the Paramount Chief of Cape Coast” to embarrass Nana Addo.

But addressing a press conference this afternoon following the extensive commentary of the alleged slighting of NPP’s Presidential candidate, over the weekend, Nana Kwesi Atta ll stated that he was unaware of Nana Addo’s presence at the durbar, hence his failure to recognize him.

“So it wasn’t a deliberate attempt on our part not to recognize him,” the Omanhene for Oguaa traditional area said.

According to him, with the kind of rapport which exists between him and the NPP flagbearer, he (Osabarima Kwasi Atta ll) could not fathom any reason to deliberately refuse to acknowledge Nana Addo’s presence.

“It was not a question of not recognizing him but because we didn’t know he was there. The British High Commissioner, I didn’t know he was there but I saw him sitting there, I talked to him, I waved at him …so it wasn’t a deliberate attempt on our part not to recognize him? After all, he was with us the previous day. He knows almost all of us, he knows me and I also know him so what reason would I have not to recognize him? It is just unfortunate that this has happened but nobody has any intention of not recognizing him,” he explained.