Although not 100% certain of his comeback, Mr. Addison said he is currently ensuring that all the obstacles that blocked the NPP’s victory in the last election are removed.

“At the moment it is not 100%, but I’m trying to make sure that all those obstacles that prevented us from winning the seat the last time around are removed. When the time comes for us to cross the road, we will cross it,” he said in a Citi News interview.

[contextly_sidebar id=”9Bhdh1xLxfH3Wa5H25XgP2w5hMmCmYAK”]Addison lost to Zanetor Rawlings, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) candidate for the constituency during the 2016 general elections.

Many political observers concluded that the NPP’s defeat was largely caused by a divided front in the constituency.

Mr. Addison, who was one f the lead lawyers when the NPP challenged the ooutcome of the 2012 presidential elections in the Supreme Court, defeated Nii Noi Nortey in the NPP’s parliamentary primary held prior to the 2016 general elections in a rather controversial manner.

Unhappy with some issues that rocked the primary, Nii Nortey left the party and contested as an independent candidate in the constituency.

Both men could not get the majority votes to represent the constituency in Parliament, thus giving the NDC’s Zanetor Rawlings, daughter of former President Rawlings a resounding victory.

Speaking to Citi News ahead of the NPP’s constituency primaries on Saturday, Mr. Addison urged members of the party in the constituency to remain calm and desist from acts that could undermine party unity.

“I think the NPP is now united; you will see that in the last elections we won the presidential and lost the parliament. I think that of all the constituencies along the coast, we should have done a double,” he added.

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By: Kojo Agyeman/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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Mr. Philip Addison, the leader of the committee tasked by the Minister of Energy; Boakye Agyarko to investigate the agreement, said the project was executed by third parties.

“If you see the contract, there is nothing in that contract that tells you that it would be performed by a third party. All the warranties and guarantees were given by Ameri. Now it turns out that this is a company that has no idea, expertise, and history about power projects; so how did they enter into this kind of agreement? So if you make statements by which another party is induced and it turns out that those statements are false, they are fraudulent misrepresentation,” he said.

According to Mr. Addison, Ameri only served as an agent to secure the contract, but instead of executing it, the company subcontracted other companies including General Electronics (GE) and Metcar to build, install and run the plants.

[contextly_sidebar id=”INoXWZAXjT4pyuJcqZPv9aweHv6EZ3z4″]Speaking on Metro TV’s Good Evening Ghana programme on Tuesday, Mr. Addison said the committee has recommended a renegotiation of the contract or outright abrogation if the renegotiation proves futile.

“First of all, there is $150 million that is the contract price, then they subcontracted it to PPR for $360 million. So that is 150 million out of the $510 million. In addition to that, in the agreement, there are variable charges which had been put in the agreement as $16.6 million. I questioned this both here in Ghana and at Dubai. At both places the answer I got was that it was a mistake. The reason why it struck me was that, how come a variable cost could have a fixed sum. I’m advised that the plant even at maximum production should be around $8 million,” he added.

Mr. Addison further explained that, there was absolutely no need for these variable charges because it has been taken care of in the $360 million “and it is not Ameri that is performing the contract so what is the variable charge for?”

On why the deal was not abrogated immediately such anomalies were detected, Mr. Addison explained that “we thought that we have come far, PPR is operating the plant, so lets take first soft approach to renegotiate because they themselves have expressed that willingness to renegotiate failing which we terminate.”

“So there is also a recommendation for termination in the event that renegotiation fails,” he added.

Ameri’s hospitality didn’t influence us – Philip Addison

Mr. Philip Addison also rejected claims that Ameri’s hospitality extended them influenced their work.

5 companies were involved in Ameri deal

The Vice President of policy think tank, IMANI Ghana, Bright Simons, had earlier claimed that, the contract awarded to Ameri was executed by five different companies.

According to him, bringing on-board these companies which included General Electric (GE), PPL, APR AND Metcar was unnecessary.

Background

Ameri Power secured a contract from the erstwhile National Democratic Congress’ government to provide about 250 Megawatts of power for Ghana because of erratic power cuts in the country.

However, the New Patriotic Party government upon assuming office tasked a 17-member committee to investigate the contract, which they believe was not in the best interest of Ghanaians.

The committee disclosed that the contract was bloated.

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By: Godwin Akweiteh Allotey/citifmonline.com/Ghana
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The leader of the Committee, Philip Addison, is thus of the view that, there’s no way the committee’s work could have been influenced as suggested by critics, because the firm only took care of their airfare and hotel bills, and did not give them per diem as alleged.

The Committee has come under criticism after it emerged that its trip to Dubai was funded by the power company.

[contextly_sidebar id=”Di8iHlxo9AoQHXPPzJuULnU97tvbJNIF”]The Minority in Parliament had argued that the findings of the committee on the deal were not objective, given that it had engaged in what has been described as shady deals [including a fully funded trip to Dubai] with Ameri.

But speaking on Metro TV’s Good Evening Ghana, Philip Addison, who is Chairman of the Committee, denied these claims, clarifying that the committee traveled to Dubai to only negotiate with Ameri for better terms and not to investigate  the firm.

“I keep reading and hearing that they were supposed to investigate Ameri, no, we were not going to investigate Ameri. We were going to have negotiations, not investigation. There was no antagonistic relationship so they freely offered to pick up the bill. So I don’t understand when so much noise is being made about this,” he said.

Asked why government did not foot the bill for the trip , he said “these are people who have expressed the wish to renegotiate the contract. The issue of payment of these tickets had nothing to do with us. I did not go and negotiate for payment of tickets. The way it is being said it is as if I went to Ameri and requested for money to buy tickets. I was sitting in the office and I got the ticket and I got the visa on my phone so I did not go and procure this. It was done under the Ministry of Energy…”

Offering further explanations on the said trip, Mr. Addison said : “I think a lot of noise has been made about this …The delegation that went to Dubai was a government delegation of three. We were suppose to be four but the Chief Executive of VRA who was supposed to be part of it could not attend because of pressing matters. “

“We did not even know the hotel until we got to Dubai and we were sent to the hotel. When we got to Dubai, I understood why they put us in the hotel because it was a walking distance from Ameri’s office,” Mr. Addison added.

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By: Marian Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghana
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The committee had sent a delegation to Dubai on the invite of Ameri, which the New Patriotic Party government has accused of bloating a power agreement contract by about $150 million.

But the Minority in Parliament rebuked the committee for accepting Ameri’s offer to travel to Dubai, claiming it could have influenced the final report.

They also accused Mr. Addison’s committee of traveling first class ticket, and lodging at a plush hotel in Dubai at the expense of Ameri.

[contextly_sidebar id=”9NFzeYyAzjhBtBZPCYWP6O1qQY246JA4″]But Mr. Addison on Metro TV’s Good Evening Ghana on Tuesday, said such was not the case. He argued that the offer could not have influenced the committee’s report.

“We are saying that Ameri owed us close to $200 million, so if it is that they pick a bill for tickets and hotel, how much would that amount to, that it becomes an issue?”

“The delegation that went to Dubai was a government delegation of three. We were supposed to be four, but the Chief Executive of VRA who was supposed to be part of it couldn’t attend because of pressing issues. The payment of these tickets had nothing to do with us. I didn’t go and negotiate for ticket payments. The way it’s being said it’s like I went to Ameri and requested for money to buy tickets. I was sitting in my office and I got the ticket and I got the visa on my phone. So I didn’t go and procure this thing,” he explained.

Mr. Addison, who is also a private legal practitioner, further disclosed that, they went to Dubai to negotiate with Ameri for better terms and not to investigate them.

“I keep reading and hearing that they were supposed to investigate Ameri, no, we were not going to investigate Ameri. We were going to have negotiation not investigation. And there was no antagonistic relationship. So they freely offered to pick up the bill. So I don’t understand when so much noise is being made about this,” he said.

Background

Ameri Power secured a contract from the erstwhile National Democratic Congress government to provide about 250 Megawatts of power for Ghana due to an existing erratic power supply in the country at the time.

However, the New Patriotic Party government upon assuming office, tasked a 17-member committee to investigate the contract, which they believe was not in the best interest of Ghanaians.

Minority charges

The Minority Spokesperson on Finance, Cassiel Ato Forson, had earlier lambasted the committee for accepting Ameri’s hospitality offer which he said was wrong.

“How can a Ministerial Committee which is a public body tasked to investigate a deal that you claim there was a wrong doing, accept gifts and hospitality? To the extent that it was material and they failed to make the public aware, that is my concern. Are you telling me a public body should accept gifts and hospitality from the very person that you are going to investigate?”

Philip Addison on the Show said “our per diem was given to us here, by the Minister,” adding that they used a business class ticket and not first class.”

On why Ameri sponsored them to Dubai, Mr. Addison said “they [Ameri] said they couldn’t come so we should go. We could have had it anywhere, in Dubai, here or in a third country.”

We were not satisfied after negotiation

Mr. Addison said the committee was not satisfied with Ameri’s position on the matter.

“The outcome of the negotiation was not what we expected, but we engaged them, we told them the position we were coming from, but we did not get what we wanted,” he added.

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By: Godwin Akweiteh Allotey/citifmonline.com/Ghana
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He spent time on Sunday visiting various Churches in the constituency and urging them to vote for him in the upcoming polls.

[contextly_sidebar id=”5oBGsqJCZBxMwAhfud1QFrckeeYPp3Vz”]He told Citi News following his visit to the Church of Pentecost in Asylum Down on Sunday morning that he is confident electorates will vote massively for him.

“Every Sunday we visit the Churches, we do about 2 or 3 of them. We are still doing the house-to-house campaign and in addition to it, we go to the Churches because sometimes, when you do the house-to-house you don’t meet everybody so this is to complement the house-to-house campaign.”

“The NDC won the last time with about 1,200 votes which I believe we can scale. It is a swing seat, it is full of people with discerning minds. It is a very cosmopolitan constituency and people know very much what is going one and I believe this time around, they really appreciate that time and hard and that there is the need for a change,” he said.

Some analysts have cast doubt on his chances due to the presence of the daughter of former President John Rawlings, Zanetor Rawlings in the parliamentary race.

But Mr Addision has said he will win the seat ahead of his competitors.

‘Race for Korle Klottey’

The Klottey Korle seat is one of the few constituencies in the Greater Accra Region that will be keenly monitored due to the unique dynamics and play of politics in the area.

Philip Addison became popular after leading his party’s legal team to challenge its loss at the 2012 presidential elections at the Supreme Court.

The NDC’s Zanetor Rawlings, who is the daughter of Ghana’s former President and founder of the party, Jerry John Rawlings.

The Progressive Peoples Party (PPP)’s Parliamentary candidate for the area, Eva Lokko, was unable to submit her nomination forms as she died in October.

Rockson Kofi Bright of the Great Consolidated Popular Party (GCPP) rescinded his decision to contest the seat and threw his weight behind the NDC candidate, Zanetor Rawlings.

CPP’s Godwin Opare Addo is said to be making inroads in gaining support from the local people ahead of the elections.

Nii Noi Nortey, who fell out of the NPP after losing the primary in a controversial election, has also established a strong presence in the constituency and vowed to take the seat.

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By: Jonas Nyabor/citifmonline.com/Ghana
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Unemployment has been identified as one of the major concerns of the youth in the Klottey Korle, but speaking on Citi FM’s The Campaign Trail, Mr. Addison noted that, “people make those promises but you a parliamentarian, you cannot guarantee jobs. It has to come from the central government so you rely on the central government.”

[contextly_sidebar id=”7EO0NCgSNrPWq6B6FRkciSAwvnBjpmtP”]Mr. Addison, who will face stiff opposition during the polls from the National Democratic Congress’  Dr Zanetor Rawlings, further explained that the MPs do not have the resources to guarantee development in their various constituencies.

“I cannot sit here, vying for Parliament saying that I am going to do this development project because we don’t have the resources. All that we get is the district common fund.”

Thus, he stressed the need for the electorate to support and vote for both the presidential and parliamentary candidates of the NPP.

“That is why when we are campaigning, we are campaigning that people should vote for the NPP, both the presidential and parliamentary because if they don’t and assuming I go to Parliament and it’s the NDC that is in power, that makes me very weak.”

“How can I make promises that I am going to do this or that when it is the NDC that is there. That is why they have to vote for the NPP government. When the NPP government is there, ideas will be shared and that is where the advocacy comes in, where you are better positioned to argue for your share of the cake,” Mr. Addison added.

Listen to the full edition of The Campaign Trail below

Follow the hashtag #GhElections on Social Media for election related stories

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By: Delali Adogla-Bessa/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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Speaking to  Citi News’ Umaru Sanda Amadu on Citi TV’s Politicos, Philip Addison said he is surprised by some of the things he had come to know about politics.

“It’s been turbulent, I didn’t anticipate some of the things that I have come to know but once I take a decision I don’t step back. I wouldn’t say I’m terrified over some of the things; maybe surprised. Maybe I should say that if I knew some of the things that I know now, I may have hesitated in jumping in,” he added.

Mr. Addison, who was the lead lawyer for NPP flagbearer, Nana Akufo-Addo during the 2012 Election Petition case, later expressed interest in representing the party in Parliament in the Klottey Korle constituency.

Although the road hasn’t been rosy for him, he managed to get elected as the parliamentary nominee for the area amidst a legal tussle and a disputed primary.

His main contender in the primary, Nii Noi Nortey, once an NPP constituency chairman in the area, is contesting as an independent candidate because he was aggrieved by the process that got Mr. Addison elected over him.

Mr. Addison told Umaru Sanda that going to Parliament would help him have a change in atmosphere from the court room.

“I want to have a change of atmosphere. Well; I thought http://bestacnedrug.com that it’s about time some of us get involved in the political institution in this country and hence my decision to go to Parliament. So far it has been exciting,” he said.

August 2 primary re-run

Addison triumphed over Nii Noi in the party’s second primary. The lawyer polled 396 votes while Nii Noi had 367 votes.

Pro-December 7 polls analysis

The Korle Klottey constituency is considered as one of the seats in the country which would be keenly contested in the December general elections, following the internal wrangling within both the NPP and the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC).

NDC camp

The NDC in the constituency has also seen some issues in recent times which culminated in months of  legal tussle.

The Incumbent Member of Parliament, Nii Armah Ashietey, who lost in the NDC’s primary to Dr. Zanetor Rawlings, Daughter of Jerry John Rawlings, dragged the former to court to have the polls annulled.

But the court eventually cleared Dr. Zanetor and Nii Ashietey discontinued the case.

PPP camp

The running mate to the Progressive People’s Party (PPP) flagbearer in 2012, Eva Lokko, is also aspiring to represent the constituency in Parliament on the ticket of the PPP.

By: Godwin A. Allotey/citifmonline.com/Ghana
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