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A leading member of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) has discounted claims by a founding member of the party, that a former Attorney-General in the erstwhile Kufuor administration, Lawyer Nii Ayikoi Otoo, was �snubbed� from being part of the legal team representing the petitioners in the Supreme Court. Dr. Nyaho Nyaho -Tamakloe, alleges he has firsthand evidence to show that the views of Nii Ayikoi Otoo were not sought by the petitioners before the election petition was filed. He also claims the petitioners kicked against the idea of having the former A-G as lead counsel. According to him, he knows "for a fact that Ayikoi Otoo made every effort to get on the legal team and he was tossed here and there [till] he gave up�. Dr Nyaho-Tamakloe further posited that he found it very intriguing that the former A-G, as chairman of the Legal Committee of the NPP, would be sidelined in such a landmark case, adding that the petitioners certainly would have been better of if he (Ayikoi) had been part of the team. "We might have had a more comfortable ride in court; the experience Ayikoi Otoo has in law is incomparable. In this world, any profession even among artisans, experience counts a lot, "Nyaho asserted. But Vice Chairman of the opposition party, Fred Oware, who dismissed the assertions of his colleague party stalwart, questioned the timing of the claims and wondered why Dr Tamakloe is now making them public. �We (NPP) started this court case (Election Petition) since last year December. So for all this while where was he (Dr. Nyaho-Tamakloe) and why didn�t he complained?�and why is he complaining now? He should have come to the office to tell us we are going wayward so we would have considered his suggestions. After 8 months, is he now complaining? ��even if what he is saying is true, is it the right time for him to say that and can we implement that now? he asked. Speaking on Asempa FM, Fred Oware opined that �We (NPP) have more legal experts in our party so there is a need to give each and every one the opportunity. The fact that Lawyer Ayikoi Otoo is the Chairman of the NPP�s Legal Committee does not automatically mean he is the only person to act as lead counsel for the petitioners��