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The founder of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Jerry John Rawlings, has indicated that had it not been for the fact that he was the founder of the party, he would have resigned from the party long ago. He said, �To be frank, looking at the current happenings in the party, if I were a normal member and not the founder, I would have resigned from the NDC.� The Ex-President noted that the Mills administration had failed Ghanaians and dashed the hopes of the many people who entrusted their faith in the NDC. Mr. Rawlings said this at the VAG Hall in Ho, the Volta Regional Capital, on Tuesday when he met delegates from the region in a closed-door meeting to canvass for votes for his wife, Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings, who is contesting Atta Mills for the flagbearership position of the NDC in today�s congress. According to some delegates who attended the meeting, the former President expressed disappointment in President Mills, whom he noted did not heed his advice and had allowed himself to be swayed into failing the Ghanaian populace. He said the current state of the economy and the many untold hardships faced by Ghanaians was all due to the wrong appointments that Mills had made. Mr. Rawlings noted that if Mills had listened to his advice in the setting up of committees of enquiry that investigated the Issa Mobila, Yaa Naa and the many murder cases, as well as cases of corruption during the erstwhile Kufuor administration, the government would have won some legal cases. He also castigated the President for appointing some government officials whom he (Rawlings) described as corrupt. He urged the delegates not to be perturbed by the intimidations, and rather asked them to be bold and stand for the ideals of the party by voting for Nana Konadu. He noted that under Atta Mills� leadership, the party structures had become tattered, a situation which was not conducive for the forward match of the NDC. He urged the delegates to live above reproach and vote massively for Nana Konadu, who is committed to reviving the party structures and restoring the dignity and respect of the constituency, branch and ward executives. One of the delegates at the meeting, according to a source, asked Mr. Rawlings if he would continue to stay in the party and campaign should Mills win the flagbearership today. The former President asked Kofi Adams, his aide, to answer that question, to which Adams replied: �If Mills should win the flagbearership, then with or without the founder, Mr. Rawlings, NDC will lose the 2012 elections to the NPP.� A representative of the Volta Regional caucus of constituency chairmen, Marshal Ackumey, expressed concern about the incessant intimidation by some known and unknown persons in the party, whom he claimed questioned their decision to meet the founder. He could not fathom why some people wanted to usurp their powers and restrict their right to meet and talk to whoever they wanted to. He added that Mr. Rawlings had always visited the region on several occasions to campaign for the party and some candidates, adding that during those occasions, he never forced nor held anyone�s thumb to vote for his preferred candidate. Mr. Ackumey therefore could not understand why there were attempts to sideline the founder. Mr. Ackumey added that the founder was not a threat, hence the reason why they were ready to listen to him. He also explained that delegates were now discerning and would always make independent choices. He asked his colleague delegates to see the founder�s meeting as an opportunity to prevent the crisis in the party from deepening.