Nana Ato Dadzie, a member of the National Democratic Congress’s (NDC) legal team, has urged New Patriotic Party (NPP) lawyers challenging results of the December 7 presidential election to render an unqualified apology to the Supreme Court, especially to Justice William Atuguba, for damaging his reputation as well as that of all the other judges. Speaking to the Daily Graphic in connection with a comment he made on Joy FM's Newsfile programme on Saturday, Nana Dadzie said, "the NPP would have been gravely unfair and done extreme injustice to Justice Atuguba and the judiciary as a whole if it failed to apologise." The legal teams of both parties met at the Supreme Court on Thursday, January 10, 2013 to argue the case in which the NDC applied to join the NPP's petition challenging the results of the December 2012 presidential election. However, the hearing could not proceed as counsel for the NPP raised an issue the composition of the nine-judge panel. The matter was adjourned so that lawyers for the petitioners could file a formal application stating why they objected to the panel’s membership. The panel was made up of Justice William Atuguba (Presiding), Justice Julius Ansah, Justice Sophia Adinyira, Justice Rose Owusu, Justice Jones Dotse, Justice Annin Yeboah, Justice P. Baffoe-Bonnie, Justice G. S. Gbadegbe and Justice Vida Akoto-Bamfo. The next day, the NPP withdrew its opposition to the court’s composition. In a letter addressed to the Registrar of the Supreme Court, it stated that its decision not to pursue the objection was motivated by a desire to see a speedy ruling on the petition. According to Nana Dadzie, the NPP was given the opportunity to prove its case after making allegations that could have injured the reputation of the judges but it failed to do so and instead decided to back out. The NPP’s action, he stated, merits an apology to the Supreme Court, as do statements made by Tema East Member of Parliament Daniel Nii Kwartei Titus-Glover and remarks made by NPP General Secretary, Mr Kwadwo Owusu-Afriyie, who allegedly threatened to expose Justice Atuguba. Earlier on Newsfile, Mr. Dadzie had argued that, "if you've changed your mind, the proper thing to do is to go before the nine judges and say, 'Lord, we are on our knees, we apologize...' That is the honourable thing to do." Neither did the NPP’s procedure in withdrawing its objection sit well with the former Chief of Staff. "You have to ask the registrar, by way of a letter, to have the court sit and then you bring a formal application withdrawing your objection... What happens to the written order? There must be a record that the written order itself has been revoked," he stated. Prof Mike Oquaye, Former First Deputy Speaker of Parliament, accused the NDC of appropriating Thursday’s events for propaganda. He also accused the party of twisting the facts concerning the NPP's decision to have its objection to the Supreme Court panel heard in camera, stating that it was rather the NDC that behaved unprofessionally. "When such statements are made — abandoned, run away, now they want to cause delay — then you are creating propaganda, falsehood that pollute the atmosphere. I must say this with all seriousness, especially when it comes from lawyers. I think we, as professionals, must take away the propaganda and do the thing professionally and advocate the professional position in public," he said.