Eastern Region Dazes Mills

Information reaching Daily Guide from the Eastern region indicates that the scheduled regional tour of President Atta Mills, which was to start today, has been postponed again. Reliable sources told Daily Guide that the President keeps on postponing his Eastern regional tour because party intelligence in the region say that the �grounds� are not good enough for him to come to the region for the intended tour. The reason is that during the president�s regional tour, he would be taking the opportunity to meet with party delegates in the region but according to the sources, most of the delegates are not really enthused about the president�s handling of the party�s affairs and are not ready to pledge their support for him. The official reason given for the President�s inability to visit the region for the third time is that tomorrow will be African Union (AU) day, which is a public holiday. However, Daily Guide sources say party executives in the region have been locked up in crucial meetings with the regional minister over the last three days over what steps could be taken to make the grounds �fertile� for the president. Nine regional executives have all openly declared their support for the President, except the Eastern region where majority of the party executives are openly against President�s Mills candidature. A meeting called on Monday, April 18 at the regional minister�s residence between the regional executives and the constituency executive members resulted in a �brawl�, as many executive members objected to the idea that the party in the region should take a stand and openly declare its support for the sitting President. This therefore forced party executives in the region to resolve to be neutral and not declare any support for the candidates who are contesting for the forthcoming presidential primaries. Proceedings of the meeting, which were carried by most of the newspapers and radio stations, got the regional minister so mad that he openly lambasted the media houses which carried the story and insulted journalists in the region who were agents of the story. The minister�s behaviour drew the ire of the inky fraternity who demanded an apology from him. Meanwhile, the rivalry between the President and his closest contender, Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings, in the party�s presidential primaries has intensified, with both camps displaying billboards about the intention of their candidates to lead the party and become the next president in 2012. Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings�s picturesque billboard was first erected at Akyem Nsutam, near Bunsu Junction in the region, greeting people travelling to Kumasi with the message: �Nana Konadu Agyeman, President for 2012�. Over the weekend, a new billboard of President Mills also resurfaced on the main Koforidua street at Mile 50, also with the message: �President Mills, President for 2012�.