The office of former President Jerry John Rawlings has discounted a news
account by the Premium Times of Nigeria of the June 17, 2013 address he
gave at a Conference on Emerging Democracies in Africa: Challenges and
Opportunities at the Transcorp Hilton, Abuja-Nigeria.
A statement
signed and issued by Rtd. Naval Captain Hillary Afeku-Amenyo, Director
of the office of the former president, said the “report is laced with
irresponsible falsehoods, fabricated quotations and wrong allusions that
bring the image of His Excellency Jerry John Rawlings into disrepute.”
Below is the statement from Rawlings’ office:
RE: JERRY RAWLINGS SLAMS NIGERIAN GOVERNMENT FOR ALLOWING CORRUPT POLITICIANS ESCAPE JUSTICE
The
attention of His Excellency Jerry John Rawlings has been drawn to a
scurrilous news report originally published by the Premium Times of
Nigeria, which has received wide coverage on the Internet and other
social media.
We wish to state strongly that the report is laced
with irresponsible falsehoods, fabricated quotations and wrong allusions
that bring the image of His Excellency Jerry John Rawlings into
disrepute.
President Rawlings did deliver the keynote address on
Emerging Democracies in Africa: Challenges and Opportunities, at
conference organised by the National Institute for Legislative Studies
in Abuja on Monday, June 17, 2013.
His address did not make
reference to the government of Nigeria and he made no scathing attack on
the Nigeria government as the Premium Times reported.
President Rawlings also did not make reference to the Nigeria leadership’s failure to punish politicians who steal public funds.
The first three paragraphs of the report are complete fabrications.
Paragraph
ten and twelve are distortions of what President Rawlings said. Because
of the gross distortions and falsehoods the entire report does portray a
totally different representation of the fact as took place at the
Transcorp Hilton, Abuja on June 17.
We have taken a very serious
view of the publication because it is malicious, libellous and a very
negative piece of journalism, which is calculated to bring the image of
President Rawlings into disrepute and written to demand a retraction of
the publication.
We caution other media who have inadvertently
republished the said article to note that they will be held equally
liable should we decide to take legal action on the matter
Below is the full text of President Rawlings’ address at the conference on Monday June 17.
Thank you.
H. Afeku-Amenyo (Rtd)
Captain (Ghana Navy)
Director, Office of Former President
Saturday, 22 June 2013
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