Akwasi Addai Odike, the founder and leader of the United Progressive Party (UPP), has apologised to the Secretary to the President, Nana Bediatuo Asante, after making defamatory and malicious allegations against the latter.
The apology comes barely two days after Odike was given a week’s ultimatum to withdraw, or face legal action over the publication.
The UPP leader had alleged on Oyerepa FM 100.7 that “Bediatuo of Flagstaff House has brought people to Bosome Freho to engage in galamsey”.
However, speaking in an interview on Metro TV today (Thursday 25 August 2022), the UPP leader said he was sincerely sorry for the pronouncement.
“Actually, I saw this on a news bulletin, so if my brother is demanding apology, I render apology to him, because I didnvt go to the source: I also heard it in the news.
“So, whatever I said that might have ruined his reputation, I am very sorry and I render apology to him,” he announced.
Retraction
Lawyers of Nana Bediatuo Asante had written to Akwasi Addai Odike, the UPP founder and leader, demanding a retraction and an apology for the defamatory and malicious comments he was reported to have made against the Secretary to the President.
In a letter to Odike dated 24 August 2022, Gary Nimako Marfo announced that, in his role as counsel to Nana Bediatuo Asante, the secretary to President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, he was writing pursuant to his client’s instructions.
“We are informed that in August 2022, you published, among others, false defamatory claims on Oyerepa FM 100.7 that ‘Bediatuo of Flagstaff House has brought people to Bosome Freho to engage in galamsey’.
“We are instructed to inform you that the said publication that you put in the public domain is absolutely false,” the letter read.
“It is instructive to point … out to you that you ought to have taken steps to verify the authenticity of the information before publishing same in the public domain.
“Clearly, your failure to verify such a serious allegation against a senior government official is deliberate and carefully calculated to malign, cause public disaffection, injure the reputation and reduce our client’s reputation in the eyes of right-thinking members of society,” the letter from Bediatuo’s lawyers to Odike further said.
In view of this, the solicitors to the Secretary to the President specified in their letter that they had their client’s instructions “to demand an immediate retraction and apology for the malicious and defamatory publication within a week upon receipt of this letter”.
“Please be informed that we have our client’s firm instructions to commence legal proceedings against you to vindicate his grievances without further recourse to you should you fail to accede to our request within the period stated,” the letter said.
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