Former President John Evans Atta Mills is said to have almost tendered in his resignation in 2010.
This was as a result of verbal attacks he suffered from former President Jerry John Rawlings.
In a book titled “Working with Rawlings”, authored by former Local Government Minister, Prof. Kwamena Ahwoi; Prof. Mills is quoted as saying “I can’t take it anymore, so I have decided to resign as President”.
Prof. Ahwoi recounts the incident as one which made him panic.
He writes “I was attending an IEA-sponsored workshop at Aburi in the Eastern Region.
“President Mills asked me (called him on phone) whether I had heard the things Rawlings had said about him to the smaller group of NDC loyalists that he had met in Tamale after the congress.
“When I replied in the negative, he said “Kwamena, then try and get the audio and listen to it. I have been humiliated enough. I can’t take it anymore so I have decided to resign as President”.
Prof. Ahwoi says it took the intervention of Captain (Retired) Kojo Tsikata, a former National Security Advisor and Kofi Totobi-Quakyi a former Minister of Information to convince the late President to change his mind.
He said this was at a meeting that lasted about four hours at the seat of government.
Prof. Ahwoi notes that, on arrival at the Castle where the former President resided at the time, there were visible signs of him packing out.
“He had packed many of his belongings in suitcases and card boxes and many others were strewn on the seats in the hall, ready for packing.”
He recounts the conclusion of the meeting “…he agreed not to resign and we agreed to take steps to ensure that Rawlings stopped his public humiliation of President Mills or reduced it significantly.”
He further reveals that they agreed to use younger members of the party to respond to Mr Rawlings after any public aspersions of President Mills.
“Any time former President Rawlings attacked or insulted President Mills publicly, one of the younger members of the party would take him on publicly not with insults but logic.”
These are the younger party members Prof. Ahwoi claims Mr, Rawlings christened ”babies with sharp teeth.”