How Rawlings' speech almost forced Atta Mills to resign as president - Kwamena Ahwoi recounts

Former Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Professor Kwamena Ahwoi has given an unusually vivid and reflective account of how late Professor John Evan Atta Mills almost resigned as president, few years into office.

According to him, Atta Mills’s decision to resign as president was as a result of some uninspiring utterances made by his predecessor, Jerry John Rawlings.

Prof. Kwamena Ahwoi said though Mills had already concluded advances to make the historic decision, he eventually rescinded after conversations with him.

The NDC stalwart narrated that, “There was one incident which nearly caused President Mills to resign. In fact, he resigned. The only thing that saved this country was that he called to tell me that he was resigning.”

Prof Ahwoi made this revelation in an interaction on Footprint show, following the launch of his book titled, “Working with Rawlings.”

“I was at an IEA conference in Aburi when he called to ask me; have you heard what Jerry has gone to say about me in Tamale? I said no I haven’t heard and he said to get the audio and listen to it because I have resigned and I don’t want anybody to try to stop me...He had packed his things and all ready to leave on account of how Rawlings was treating him...” he told host, Samuel Atta Mensah.

During the administration of late President Atta Mills, in 2010, Mr Rawlings was one known to have wielded quite influential roles in not only the then ruling party but also in the country, even though his tenure had long passed.

His fierce criticisms more often than not, used to set the tone for political conversations in the country.

One of such fierce criticisms was in 2010, when he launched quite a scathing attack on the then-president John Evans Atta Mills for what he described as his incapacity to make substantive changes in the country as he promised.

Amongst other things Mr Rawlings accused the Mills led administration of losing the high moral ground to fight corruption.

“Today when we take one step forward, we take two steps backwards, two steps forward, two and half steps backwards. We took several steps forward in 2000, they [the NPP government] took as back again, now 2008 we (NDC administration) have taken over, we are expected to move forward but we do not move forward," Rawlings said while addressing party faithful at the Tamale Jubilee Park during the 31st-anniversary commemoration of the June 4 uprising.