A leading member of the National Democratic Congress, Clend Sowu, is calling for cease fire in the ruling party which has been dogged lately by 'coup attempts' on President Mills ahead of the 2012 elections. Two years into a possible eight year term for John Mills, the party has made the headlines over possible heirs to the sitting president. The controversy came to a head Wednesday with the a leading member of the party and the Board Chairman of the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation Ato Ahwoi, accusing some members of the party of re-hatching a plan in 2007 to scuttle the presidential ambitions of the president. He cited ex-president Rawlings and his confidante, Herbert Mensah as the protagonists of that plot. But the latter is unimpressed and fired a salvo in return, accusing Ato Ahwoi of hypocrisy and double standards. With tensions reaching a crescendo, Clend Sowu told Joy FM’s Kojo Oppong Nkrumah the controversy must cease. He said everybody must abide by the rules and regulations of the party and observe the major pillars, “probity and accountability”, “power to the people”, on which the party was built. According to him, the constitution of the NDC stipulates that when the party is in power, flag-bearership race can only be opened one year before the next election. He finds it rather worrying for issues about presidential race to be discussed two years into the four year term of the sitting president. Even though people are free to criticize, they must do so with integrity, he said. Story By Nathan Gadugah/Myjoyonline.com/Ghana