JJ Jabs Mills; He�s Crashing Into Hole

The recent suspension of the Deputy General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and spokesperson for former President Jerry John Rawlings has stirred the hornet�s nest, prompting the party founder to spit fire over the action and paint a gloomy picture of the country under President Atta Mills. In a terse statement issued yesterday, Mr Rawlings expressed concern about the state of affairs in the country. �The government is fast speeding the country into an abyss and as Easter draws near, let us seek God�s guidance in honest, unpretentious prayer of supplication,� he said. He did not mince words when he poured out his heart about what could pass for bottled-up pain about recent developments. That his reaction is coming from outside the country underscores how he regards the party�s treatment of his aide who was a subject of deliberation of the party leadership over an alleged instance of malfeasance. Many political observers have been expecting the reaction to come in this form and so the abrasive form it has taken has not surprised such persons. He likened the current situation in the country to a vehicle being driven, as it were, by President Mills towards an abyss and therefore requiring an urgent spiritual intervention, especially against the backdrop of the approaching Easter season. Taking an indirect swipe at the rampant government-organized national prayer sessions, he said Ghana needed honest and unpretentious prayer sessions to deliver her out of the ordeal she was passing through in the hands of the Mills-led government. Turning to the issue of Kofi Adams, who was recently suspended by the party leadership because a controversial recording played on a pro-NDC radio station alleged that he was engaged in a politically compromising discussion with Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko of the opposition NPP, Rawlings said by the action, Kofi was being treated as an outcast by the NDC to serve someone�s parochial and unpatriotic interest. �When you find yourself in an unintended pit or hole, the wise thing to do is to stop digging. It does not appear the Mills government is able to see the growing darkness around them,� he said, adding, �They have lost so much moral high ground and now one of the most truthful, forceful, logically minded personalities of integrity in the party leadership is being treated like an outcast to serve a parochial and unpatriotic interest.� On whether President Mills was interested in benefiting from the fruits of truth, he expressed doubt that the former law professor had any such intention in a rhetorical question in the statement. �Do we need any other evidence to demonstrate that the Mills government has no intention of profiting from the truth?� He said Ghana needed a real and true awakening. The Kofi Adam issue made the headlines recently when a pro-NDC radio station played the recording of a purported conversation between him and the NPP man, in which he was said to have claimed that he would work towards getting the NDC back to opposition. Mr Adams denied the recording, stating that it was the outcome of a voice mimicking manipulation through the use of a gadget for that purpose. Gabby too denied engaging in such a discussion even though both agreed that they had always discussed political issues. That explanation did not sway the party leadership from suspending Kofi Adams in a manner considered by observers as a vindictive action, even after his copious explanation. The suspension of Mr Adams is regarded as part of a grand agenda to ostracize the Rawlingses including persons working for them. NDC General Secretary Johnson Asiedu Nketia even added a twist to it when he said the party no more considered Kofi Adams as a member because his membership card was revoked at the National Executive Committee (NEC) held at the Local Government Training School at Madina last Thursday. �We have withdrawn his membership from the party so it affects his position as well because you cannot be an executive member if you are not a member of the party�Kofi Adams is no longer a member of the NDC and he cannot exercise any rights as NDC member until the determination of the matter,� Asiedu Nketia told Okay FM on Friday.