The Managing Editor of the Al Hajj newspaper Alhaji Iddrisu Bature has appealed to President Mills to restore the strained relations between him and former President Jerry Rawlings to prevent division in the party. According to him, it was unthinkable for the two great men of the party to have plunged the party into chaos at a time of the party’s efforts to consolidate power. It is widely speculated that the friction between the two former pals might have been fueled by President Mills’ refusal to act on the former president's incessant demand that members of the erstwhile Kufuor’s government be prosecuted on allegations of corruption. Also, the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) trumpeted a widely held view that, President Mills would not be his own man prior to the 2008 elections but would be controlled by Mr. Rawlings when elected as president. It is believed that President Mills, to prove his critics wrong, took certain decisions which were clearly not in the interest of former President Rawlings. Speaking on Asempa FM’s Ekosii Sen programme Tuesday, Alhaji Bature attributed the seeming frosty relationship between former President Rawlings and President Mills to the kind of comments made by some ministers of state and party executives who support both gentlemen. “Those with the President and those with the former President are the beneficiaries and NDC is the victim,” Alhaji Bature averred. He said considering the utterances by Kofi Adams who doubles as aide to the Rawlings’ and deputy General Secretary of the NDC after the resignation of Mrs. Rawlings indicates that he has no love for the party and only interested in pleasing his bosses. “You have a government that claims to be doing well; then you have a deputy General Secretary of the party who goes on air to say the President is not good he must be change,” he added. Alhaji Bature noted that the pronouncement by Koku Anyidoho, Director of Communications at the presidency that President Mills will sweep over 81% votes at the congress equally does not augur well for the already sour relationship. He observed that Mr. Rawlings could not jeopardise the fortunes of the party which he founded by engaging in hostilities with the sitting President adding that but for the efforts of the former President Jerry Rawlings, the NDC could not have wrestled power from a NPP. The NDC sympathizer stressed that if the ruling party is poised to retain power, then there must be a concerted effort by all party members at all levels, to be united to render the NPP ineffective in the 2012 elections. Story by Adwoa Gyasiwaa/Myjoyonline.com/Ghana