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General News of Tuesday, 12 April 2011

Source: Daily Post

Calm returns to the NDC

It is often said that “after a storm comes calm.” This English adage is the situation currently in the NDC after an alleged stormy meeting of the Executive Committee of the party last weekend at the Ghana Trade Fair site at La in Accra.

Prior to the meeting, many predicted that it will end in chaos. Live radio broadcasts on the D-day described very heavy military presence at the venue of the meeting. It was as though the heavens was about to fall.

Reports of what transpired in the meeting, though journalists were not present, painted a picture of near fisticuffs between President Mills and Former President Rawlings. All these reports that shot the blood pressures of some devotees of the party up to its zenith levels, turned out to be a storm in a tea cup. All was not rosy at the meeting but certainly, it was not doomsday for the ruling party.

With calm returning, the leader of the party and President of Ghana is shifting his focus to the Ashanti Region today as he begins a three day tour of the region.

President Mills is expected to meet the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tut II and other Ashanti chiefs at the beginning of the tour.

According to Koku Anyidoho, the Director of Communications at the Presidency, the tour will see the President commissioning completed developmental projects, inspect on-going ones and cut the sod for the beginning of new ones.

On the eve of the departure of the President to the Ashanti Region, Former President Rawlings set the records straight with regards to newspaper publications claiming he verbally tongue-lashed President Mills who was restrained from replying at the meeting at the Trade Fair site.

At the Ridge office of the Former President yesterday, Mr. Kofi Adams, Special Assistant to Rawlings, denied the allegation that the Former President tongue-lashed the sitting President and challenged those who are making the claim to substantiate their allegation with recordings.

He said the Former President spoke in a frank but decorous way to the gathering at the meeting including the President, adding that the Former First Lady, Mrs. Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings, though was late in seeing the President enter the meeting, stood up to acknowledge his entry.

Whether the calm that has returned to the NDC is temporary or permanent will be seen in the next few days.