William Quaitoo :  My own party members were behind my resignation - Former Dep. Agric Minister

Former Deputy Minister of Agriculture, William Quaitoo, has said that he resigned from his position due to pressure from party members from the northern part of the country who felt hurt by the ethnocentric remarks he made about farmers in the north.

Quaitoo had described northerners as people who are “so difficult” to deal with.

He further described the farmers who were demanding compensation for crops destroyed by the army worm as people who cannot be trusted and seem to have intentions to defraud the government.

READ ALSO: Ghanaians react to deputy agric minister's resignation

However, the former deputy minister rendered an apology for his comments after many criticized him over the development.

But many argued that the apology was not enough and must be rejected.

He subsequently resigned to “bring peace.”

READ ALSO: Ghana's deputy minister for Agric resigns over ethnocentric comments

Speaking on the subject matter on Accra-based Starr FM on Wednesday, Quaitoo said: “I regret saying that comment. The word ‘some’ was missing [during the interview].”

The MP for Akyem Oda said he was quoted out of context.

“I was quoted out of context and out of proportion. I wasn’t forced to resign. There was pressure on the president by my brothers from the North. I did not resign because of pressure from the National Democratic Congress (NDC)… I resigned because of my own party people. They were hurt; they were offended," he said.

Quaitoo further pleaded for forgiveness, saying that he is “considering going to Yendi” to render an apology to them.