Former host of Alhaji & Alhaji and National Democratic Congress member, Alhaji Bature, is asking party members to refrain from condemning businessman and friend of the Rawlingses, Herbert Mensah. According to Bature, Herbert Mensah deserves praise from NDC followers for breaking the ice on an otherwise festering undercurrent in the party over leadership struggles which could have had disastrous consequences for the party. Herbert Mensah has been responding to questions of whether Mrs Konadu Agyeman Rawlings, former First Lady, intends to contest President Mills for the NDC's flagbearership at Election 2012. He has said that the former First Lady has not declared any such intention but would be most qualified for the office of President if she so chooses. Many in the party have been beside themselves with rage since last Friday, June 4 when a group was spotted at a rally to commemorate the 31st anniversary of the June 4 uprising in Tamale, bearing a banner that proposed Nana Konadu for President in 2012. But Bature, who was speaking on Asempa FM's Ekosii Sen current affairs programme, said he was happy the issue had finally come out for redress because he has long been raising the red flags over the festering danger. Bature said not only were individuals nursing presidential ambitions, there were other persons working relentlessly to unseat NDC MPs. And such persons were building their arsenal for deployment come the appropriate time, an agenda Bature said could only portend disaster for the party. Bature also called on former President Jerry Rawlings to learn to contain whatever frustrations he has with President John Mills' style of governance. He said in spite of Rawlings' criticism of Mills as being too slow among others, he is convinced Mills is performing better than his [Rawlings] and J.A. Kufuor's administrations in many respects. He also reminded critics of the Mills government that he has barely crossed his 18th month of a 48-month mandate, and anyone desiring to measure his output should hold his fire until due time. The Functional Executive Committee of the NDC on Thursday held a press conference to read the riot act to persons it said were undermining the president as well as sitting MPs of the party. Story by Isaac Yeboah/Myjoyonline.com