A Ghanaian newspaper, The New
Statesman has retracted and apologized for a defamatory and libelous story it
published on September 25, 2015, against Springfield Energy and its CEO, Mr. Kevin
Okyere, where it sensationally tried to link the duo to corruption in the
Nigerian petroleum sector.
The New Statesman, which gave wings to
the defamatory report in Ghana and Nigeria, in a retraction published on the
cover page of the October 16 edition and subsequently on page 2, regretted that
the previous report it ran was inaccurate saying, “Apart from the fact that
Springfield did business with the NNPC in Nigeria, The News Statesman has no
evidence that Springfield’s dealings with NNPC were not legitimately secured…”
Springfield Energy is an oil and gas
company with operations in Ghana and Nigeria.
Mr. Okyere and his company had sued
the newspaper and
its publisher, GAB Productions Limited, for GH¢30 million ($7.5m) for libel, at
an Accra High Court on September 30.
The duo also threatened to sue other newspapers for
publishing unsubstantiated reports linking them to corruption in Nigeria.
It is however unclear whether the
plaintiffs would discontinue the suit.
The full text of The New Statesman’s retraction reads:
“RETRACTION: REPORT ON KEVIN OKYERE, SPRINGFIELD
The new statesman wishes to retract in
full its report of Friday, September 25, 2015.
“THE HANDSOME GHANAIAN MILLIONAIRE AND
NIGERIA’S BEAUTIFUL $20BN EX-PETROLEUM MINISTER”.
The new statesman, as its readers are
fully aware, has been consistent in highlighting for its mainly Ghanaian
readers efforts by the new Buhari government to tackle corruption in Nigeria.
Much of such publications have focused on the Nigerian National Petroleum
Corporation and its former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani
Alison-Madueke.
In the course of our investigations,
much of which was based on reports already circulating in the Nigerian media on
her controversial handling of the ministry, names were mentioned of people with
alleged influence around Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke and in just two of the
many numerous reports (specifically The Premium Times and little known the
capital) the name Kevin Okyere, a Ghanaian businessman, came up.
Our checks further revealed that
Kevin’s company, Springfield, which is a player in the petroleum business here
in Ghana, managed to secure oil-lifting deals in Nigeria under the Jonathan
government.
We must however, stress that none of
the publications about Kevin Okyere or his company, Springfield, made any
categorical allegation linking him to any corrupt dealings, either in Nigeria
or Ghana. And our own publication did not say that Kevin Okyere or Springfield
took part in any corrupt transaction in any of the two countries they are known
to operate in Ghana and Nigeria.
Indeed our report on Kevin Okyere and
Springfield went on to say that the successful young Ghanaian businessman
became “an object of envy within oil circles in Nigeria”, and added, “many
others reduce the targeting of the successful Ghanaian deal-maker as one of
pure envy.”
Apart from the fact that Springfield
did business with the NNPC in Nigeria, the News Statesman has no evidence that
Springfield’s dealings with NNPC were not legitimately secured and made no such
categorical claim in our publication.
We have since published a rejoinder
from Springfield in which they completely denied doing anything illegitimate in
either Nigeria or Ghana.
We are hereby rendering a full
retraction and unreservedly regret any inconvenience which our said publication
might have caused Springfield and its CEO, Kevin Okyere.”
