Acting Chairman of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP), Mr Freddy Blay, has refuted suggestions by former President John Mahama that the NPP is intolerant.

He said Mr Mahama should not expect to go scot-free when he throws potshots at the NPP since the party is ever ready to respond in equal measure.

For him, Mr Mahama was only blowing “hot air” when he claimed the NPP was intolerant at a recent Unity Walk event by the main opposition National Democratic Congress in Wa.

“When you use strong words, sometimes we react with stronger words, that’s okay, there is nothing wrong with that. You give and take in politics,” Mr Blay told Osei Bonsu on Asempa FM’s Ekosii Sen political talk show on Friday, 11 May 2018.

He continued: “We have not been insulting, calling people stupid and doing all those kinds of things but sometimes your description and adjectives may be hard and equally some people come out to also to give the same reaction.

“People should not fold their arms when you are criticising them, they must react to it [and] so, you should be prepared to take some of the blows. When you give some, take some, there is nothing wrong. It is part of democracy”.

Mr Blay has picked nomination forms to contest the chair slot of the party to be endorsed as substantive chair after acting for years following the suspension of Mr Paul Afoko.

Mr Stephen Ayensu Ntim, Alhaji Abubakar Rahaman a. k.a Alhaji Short and Dr. Richard Amoako Baah, have also announced their intention to contest the chair slot.