JJ, NDC Part Ways At Last?

After Badmouthing Govt in far-away Equatorial Guinea

-Party to decide on his fate

National Democratic Congress (NDC) founder, Jerry John Rawlings risks being stripped of his title and expelled from the party following his recent disparaging remarks calculated at destroying the government and country’s international goodwill and image as an emerging democracy, in far-away Equatorial Guinea.

The Al-Hajj can state on authority today that the reported re-union between former president Jerry John Rawlings and his one-time confidante and Vice-President, President J.E.A. Mills and his government has collapsed beyond repairs as a result of bad faith shown by the former President. The Former President refused to reciprocate a confidence-building measure by the government which offered him the Presidential jet to travel to Equatorial Guinea on a private visit, and instead used the opportunity to discredit the government in front of foreign dignitaries and heads of state.

He was said to have alleged that the Mills-administration, knowing very well that it is going to lose the election to the opposition NPP has put out a strategy to rig the December elections by bussing people to rallies to show a semblance of popularity and support.

According to him, bussing hordes of crowd to rallies will convince people that the government is popular, and in the midst of that rig the elections. Contrary to our earlier report that former President Rawlings and his once chosen heir and protégé, Mills, met at Osu Castle in the last few days to smoke the peace pipe and reconcile their differences, latest information available to this paper has it that the purported visit by Rawlings for a re-union with Mills was a farce and calculated at pulling a fast one at the Government.

According to latest intelligence reports seen by this paper, irredeemable Rawlings, after the historic mid-night visit to the Castle on 5th of July, this year, ostensibly to commiserate with president Mills following his return from a medical check-up abroad, traveled aboard a presidential jet to Equatorial Guinea only to go and bad-mouth president Mills and the National Democratic Congress administration before a fellow guest, the President of Surinam and their host, President Obiang Mbasogo Nguema.

The ‘unacceptable’ behavior of the former president, a very highly placed source told The Al-Hajj, has compelled the presidency to resolve to cease any further reconciliatory discussions with the former air force pilot. The NDC founder’s latest conduct this paper was told is to be tabled at the next National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting of the party to determine his future with the party he founded.

Our source revealed that after his encounter with the president on the night of July 5, Mr. Rawlings, who was lamenting how to catch a direct flight to Malabo, capital of Equatorial Guinea to honour an invitation by that country’s president, was generously provided with a presidential jet by president Mills. However, the source continued, “much to our disappointment and discomfiture, president Mills and the NDC government were the subject of Jerry’s ferocious attacks before the Surinamese President, Desiré Delano "Dési" Bouterse and President Mbasogo Nguema”.

According to the source, Mr. Rawlings told his host, Presidents Mbasogo Nguema, a personal friend of President Mills and Mr. Desiré Delano "Dési" Bouterse that he Mills and the NDC government were going to steal the December elections to perpetuate themselves in power.

Unrepentant Jerry Rawlings is reported to have added that as part of the plan by Mills and the NDC to rig the elections, rented people will be transported to the party’s rallies during the campaign to showcase how ‘popular’ the administration is as a precursor to manipulation of the December election results.

Mr. Rawlings is also said to have told his fellow guest and host that though Mills is a man of high integrity, he has allowed himself to be surrounded by ‘hard core crooks’ who are filthy corrupt.

For putting the government on its toes