Akufo-Addo convinced me to join NPP but I refused – Atubiga

A former presidential hopeful of the main opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), Steven Atubiga has revealed that some influential figures including the then presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) wanted him to contest on the ticket of the NPP as parliamentary candidate for Binduri in the Upper East Region.

“Let me tell you a secret, you could call his brother Fiifi and ask him, anybody could ask Nana Akufo-Addo, I had one-on-one [meeting] with him in Maryland around 2011, 2010 I met him. We sat one-on-one, I spoke to him, we spoke about an hour together and if you ask Boniface and co at that moment even they were poaching me to even come and be their candidate for Binduri unopposed…put me on record ask Fiifi, I’m talking about Fiifi today, Fiifi, Nana Akufo-Addo’s cousin in his house, in his living room and I refused,” Mr Atubiga told Class FM’s Blessed Sogah on the current affairs programme State of the Nation.

Recounting the impression, he had after his conversation with the President back then, Mr Atubiga said he had the feeling that the presidential candidate of the NPP at the time was not corrupt.

“But look I had a lot of confidence in Nana Akufo-Addo, I believe that me, today I always (tell) my NDC people, I always tell them that look the man himself is not corrupt, he didn’t wish that what he is going through now that was where he was going to be. I’m talking about (2010, 2011) when I met Nana Akufo-Addo we had one-on-one meeting, I came out and said this man is really genuine,” he said.

Mr Atubiga, however, believes that Nana Akufo-Addo appears to be losing the fight against corruption because of his inability to deal decisively with alleged corrupt government officials.

“it is people that make you a president, it is people that finance your election, it is people that spend their money to bring you in power, it people that bring their vote, it is people that bring their cloud but once you are the leader, if you don’t put your foot down like the way His Excellency John Dramani Mahama did, and even showed us an example of prosecuting his own member of parliament Abuga Pele and a businessman, and you want to feel that people invested in my party, they made me a president, that is what has brought Nana Akufo-Addo up to date that he has no control,” Mr Atubiga stated.