“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 States 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.”
Go and sin no more
ReplyDeleteBig girls do bigthings. Congrats girlie. I'm really proud to be a woman with pple like u. Women empowerment. #selfmade #teamselfmade. Love ya girl.
ReplyDeleteHe should be tried by icpc
ReplyDeleteGood for them
ReplyDelete#It WiLL oNLy gEt beTTer
#iT MuSt eNd IN pRAisE
Ok
ReplyDeleteDey did well
#oneandonlynwa@gmail.com#
Not like I care though...
ReplyDeleteIt is good when people realise their mistake and apologise,to forgive is divine
ReplyDeleteI almost get myself killed today when learning how to drive a bike,I even thought am dead but to Gods glory,I sustain no injury. TIMILEYIN BLESSING
Ok!!!
ReplyDeletefor dia pocket
ReplyDeleteTheir cup of zobo
ReplyDeleteWhen u want to play with snakes,make sure u dont get bitten,and even if u do get bitten, u can stand the venom..otherwise be ready to get bitten and killed...
ReplyDeleteSEEN
ReplyDeleteAUNTY LINDA.......
On Behalf of we Africans, Apology Accepted
ReplyDeleteNext
Dats better. Otherwise dey would have risked being sued. Linda take note!
ReplyDeleteOkay
ReplyDeleteBetter for u people....bera stop publishing defamatory stories
ReplyDeleteBerra for them
ReplyDeleteBerra for them
ReplyDeleteCivil and decent. Sahara reporters and Premium times take note.
ReplyDeleteSeem
ReplyDeleteThis is definitely not the end of this story.
ReplyDeleteWhy should they apologize. This ghana man has eaten plenty of Nigerias commonwealth. Buhari should go and collect that oil well in Ghaba belonging to him and Duezani.
ReplyDeleteNIGERIA WILL BE SO DUMB IF THEY LET KELVIN GO,,,KEVIN IS VERY CLOSE TO DEZANI HE KEPT
ReplyDeleteMOST OF NIGERIAN LOOTING MONEY ON HER BEHALF...THATS THE FACT I KNOW HIM AND WE ALL KNOW HIM..YOU WILL SEE SOON;; THE BOY HAS SEVERAL BANK ACCOUNTS IN SOME OVERSEAS COUNTRIES,,HIS SLEEPING WITH NIGERIAN PETROLEUM MINISTER WE HAVE THE FACTS
ALOT OF BIG POLITICIANS WILL GO DOWN INCLUDING THE EX BIG GUY IF THEY TRY TO INVESTIGATE KEVIN OR DEZANI;;;THE FACT,,,MANY SHARED THE BREAD WITH PETROLEUM MINISTER,,WE WATCHING AND WAITING
ReplyDelete