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The Central Regional Propaganda Secretary of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC), Ben Allotey Jacobs, has taken grave exception to statements made by ex-President Jerry John Rawlings over the weekend in Abuja, Nigeria. Giving the keynote address at the Extraordinary Congress of the United Cities and Local Governments of Africa (UCLGA) in Abuja, Nigeria, Mr Rawlings stated that "for the first time in Ghana�s political history, the country may fail to deal with the crimes of a previous regime," in apparent reference to the NPP, and this he said might "perpetuate a corrupt ruling class syndrome." But Mr. Allotey Jacobs sharply disagrees and believes often-times statements made by the founder and leader of the ruling party really "hurt our hearts." Contributing to a panel discussion on PEACEFM's "Kokrokoo" Mr. Allotey Jacobs, who is also a Board Member of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), called on Mr. Rawlings to �tone down a little� to ensure the smooth running of the Mills' administration. "Truly, I want to state this clearly that the Founder of my party is hurting a whole lot of us�I�m saying this very clear that inasmuch as we love him, we respect him, inasmuch as we�ll always defend him�his comments sometimes hurt our hearts�," he stated. He told Tweneboa Kodua (TK), sit-in host for Kwami Sefa- Kayi that though it is widely acknowledged that the former President was instrumental in the NDC winning back power from the New Patriotic Party, some of his utterances and public speeches are uncalled for. "I�m pleading with him, he helped us win back power�, but you don�t kill the child you�ve brought into this world�," he added. The ex-president has on numerous occasions criticized President Mills for being "slow� in prosecuting past government officials �who had committed various offences and looted tax payer�s coffers."