Although critics say the 8th National Delegates� Congress of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) has been very peaceful, in spite of fears of a possible repeat of the incessant ethnic conflicts recorded in the Northern Region and its environs, comments made by the Vice President John Dramani Mahama of the party might rather create some degree of strain on the relative cordial relationship between the NDC and its main political rival, the New Patriotic Party (NPP).