The flag-bearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Prof. John Evans Atta Mills says former President Jerry John Rawlings has no control over him and cannot determine his political decisions. Speaking to the Dunkwa Traditional Council during a courtesy call on the chiefs of the area, as part of activities lined up for his four-day tour of the Central Region, Prof. Mills said he found it absurd that some New Patriotic Party (NPP) lawyers that he taught and examined at the University of Ghana, now make allegations that he (Mills) is not his own man. He said anybody in the government who attended Legon from 1971 to 1996, and was at the Law faculty, had passed through his hands as a former law lecturer. "But today these same people are telling me that I cannot take decisions on my own. “I want to ask them that at the time I was marking their papers and teaching them to become lawyers, where was former President Rawlings?" he questioned. On his recent refusal to take the national award conferred on him by the State, Prof. Mills said he did it in the interest of the nation and not because he was asked by former President Rawlings to do so. He although he initially accepted to go for the award to promote unity in Ghana, the hullabaloo that followed his nomination, especially from the other side of the political divide, indicated to him accepting the award could further polarise the country. Prof. Mills said when names of the nominees were announced, he was the only person that the NPP functionaries insulted and denigrated most. He urged NDC supporters and Ghanaians to discard vile propaganda from the NPP that he was persuaded by former President Rawlings to boycott the awards. He also advised them to open their eyes wide on the election day and that they should refuse money or any inducement to rig the elections in favour of the ruling NPP. Nana Kwame Kumi III, acting President of the Denkyira Traditional Council, urged all political parties to ensure peace during and after the December general election to help consolidate the democratic gains. Source: The Chronicle