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There are indications that President John Evans Atta Mills might not participate in the upcoming presidential debate being put together by the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA). Sources at the Castle say advisors have counseled the president against engaging in such an activity and are doing everything possible to boycott the exercise since they believe it is an attempt by the institute to ridicule him publicly. Sources said President Mills was not in a mood to face his main challenger, Nana Akufo-Addo of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the widely publicized presidential debate, in order to avoid any embarrassing results, especially regarding broken promises. A Deputy Information Minister, Samuel Okudzeto-Ablakwa, could not confirm whether or not the President would participate in the debate when contacted. He promised to check with President Mills immediately and communicate the decision to DAILY GUIDE, but failed to do so since last week Tuesday. A youth group in the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Team of Popular Youth (TOPY), had first given the signal when it sent a petition to the IEA to question the integrity and neutrality of individuals who had been constituted to regulate the encounter. Another member of the party�s communications team, who writes under the pseudonym Margeret Jackson, posted a similar article on ghanaweb.com in which �he� made disparaging remarks about certain individuals including Rev. Dr. Mensa Otabil, General Overseer, ICGC, who is also the chairman of the committee, Jean Mensah, Executive Director, IEA; Prof. Ivan Addae Mensah, Chairman, Petroleum Commission; Prof. Stephen Adei, former Rector GIMPA and Kabral Blay Amihere, Chairman of the National Media Commission, labelling all of them as pro-NPP. Others include Justice Emile Short, former Commissioner of CHRAJ; Maulvi Wahab Adam, Ameer in charge of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Mission; Dr. Rose Mensah-Kutin, Executive Director, ABANTU for Development; Kofi Asamoah, General Secretary, TUC; Tony Oteng Gyasi, former president of AGI/Managing Director-Tropical Cables and Prof. Esi Sutherland-Addy, Institute of African Studies, University of Ghana. The IEA seems to be silent on the issue since attempts by DAILY GUIDE to speak to its Executive Director, Jean Mensah, proved unsuccessful. In TOPY�s petition dated April 30, 2012, the group, led by one Marcus Garvin Adampah, and chaired by Stephen Kenneth Nakujah, cited a publication in the national security-sponsored pro-government tabloid, The Herald newspaper and published on ghanaweb.com on Saturday, April 28, 2012 with the heading �Presidential Debate Collapses� to back its claim. It asked the IEA �to consider the appointment of the members of this committee in order to clear any shroud of doubts or fear being expressed by some stakeholders since this event that has over the years provided the opportunity for the electorate to assess the suitability of the presidential candidates that are asking for their mandate to govern them.� The group claimed, �The reconstitution of the committee will make the event credible both locally and internationally.� In �his� article titled �President Mills should boycott the Presidential debate�, which was also published on ghanaweb.com on Thursday, May 3, 2012, the Margaret Jackson argued that �there is no law in Ghana that mandates the IEA to conduct any presidential debates and therefore every party is free to either attend the debate or boycott it.� Quite apart from that, this male-turned female member of the government�s communications team indicated that �the IEA does not even have the power to do anything concerning presidential debates without the express consent and approval of the political parties involved.� Jackson however noted, �As a matter of principle, I am calling on President Mills to boycott the so-called presidential debate that is being blueprinted to tilt in favour of NPP�s Presidential Candidate, Nana Akufo-Addo. �The IEA has proven that it�s a prejudiced or jaundiced institute that can never be trusted by the NDC, and, to a large extent, the CPP and the PNC parties,� Jackson said, insisting, �President Mills does not need the IEA to trumpet his economic and social achievements since he assumed office.� �President Mills does not need Jean Mensa and her disgraceful, biased, ill-filled, unprincipled, undemocratic NPP-leaning IEA to sell his vision to Ghanaians; it�s rather the IEA which needs President Mills to attend the ostensible presidential debates to boost its sunk[en] image,� Jackson stated. It was a similar IEA platform that offered the then Candidate Mills and other presidential candidates the opportunity to market their programmes and ideas before the 2004 and the 2008 elections. However, some of these groups in the NDC have promised not to forgive President Mills if he participates in the upcoming IEA Presidential debate, which will be held in Accra, Takoradi and Tamale before the general elections on December 7. Prof. Mills, in 2000, boycotted a similar debate organized by the Freedom Forum of the United States in conjunction with the Ghana Journalists� Association (GJA), only to turn around for a solo media encounter after that boycott had backfired. The presidential debate is for parties with representatives in Parliament�NDC, NPP, CPP and PNC.