<<Print>>

The President of Ghana, John Evans Atta Mills, might have put paid to speculations of a strained relationship with former president and Founder of the ruling party, Jerry John Rawlings, when he stated at the annual interaction with Editors and Senior Journalists during the third edition of the �Editors Forum� that �as far as I am concerned my relationship with ex-President Rawlings has not changed.� Facing the local and a few members of the international media at the Osu Castle on Monday morning in a one-on-one meeting, President Mills debunked any assertion that he and former President Rawlings are not on good speaking terms. The Managing Editor of the Al-Hajj newspaper, Alhaji Bature had raised concerns over the frosty relationship between the President and the NDC founder wondering the effect it will have on the NDC�s fortunes in the upcoming general elections. President Mills in reply asked if anybody has �heard him say anything (negative) against Rawlings�, adding that he is waiting for the right time to confer with the founder of the party and resolve whatever differences exists between them. �Nobody here can say that they heard me say anything against President Rawlings. It is our prayer that we come together as a party, as far as I am concerned, my relationship with President Rawlings has not changed over the years. Indeed I�m waiting for an opportunity, if the opportunity offers itself the two of us will sit down and see what differences there are and resolve them accordingly,� President Mills said. There is no contesting the fact that the ex-president played a crucial role in the 2008 general elections, especially during the presidential run-off, but some say since assuming power, what seemed to be trust turned into a battle as the former President has consistently accused the Mills' administration of appointing "greedy bastards" to lead the nation. In fairness, several salvos have also been fired at the ex-president albeit indirectly from some NDC activists. The infighting between the Rawlings' loyalists and Mills' fanatics in government has been lingering around for a while, but all seemed to come to a halt today after his (Mills�) answer which discounted any reservations between the two. Whiles calling for a united front, President Mills however posited that the apparent disunity in the NDC is not a strange phenomenon. �The wider party and the apparent disunity, this is not strange, it happens with parties in power for a number of reasons and yet we are not taking it as an acceptable fact; we are working hard individually and as a group to bring all our party people together. It is not easy but we have to make an effort and therefore I want to use this occasion to appeal to all of us in the NDC; we will all not think alike, there will always be points of disagreements. Not everybody thinks that he or she has been treated well since the NDC came into power, but I ask, what would have been the alternative if NDC had remained in opposition? I therefore want to appeal to each and every one of us. I want our people to come together and stay as a united front.