The Greater Accra Regional Chairman of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Joseph Kobina Ade-Coker, has denied and condemned in no uncertain terms a publication in sections of the media which sought to pit him against the presidency over Afriyie Ankrah’s swap to a different portfolio, after the Brazil fiasco.
According to him, the story was cooked up in the bedroom of the writers and served hot to dent his image.
“It’s a figment of whoever wrote its’ imagination, because I was even out of the country at the time they referred to in the publication to have granted that interview,” he stated.
The affable chairman, speaking on Asempa FM’s political talk show “Ekosii sen”, last Tuesday, denied every line of the story headlined; Ade Coker Jabs Mahama over Afriyie Ankrah” and described it as a falsehood fabrication to tarnish his image.
Meanwhile, the Ghana News Agency (GNA) which was credited as the source, has also refuted being behind the publication.
A disclaimer issued by the outfit’s management and signed by the General Manager, Dr. Bernard Otabil, yesterday in Accra, read in part that, “The concocted story, which was ostensibly dressed in GNA garb to give it credibility, lacked the substance and style to warrant the signature of GNA in the first place”, adding that “Such acts of wickedness only go to fuel public anger against journalists and the work of media organisations”.
The statement further revealed that: “Mr. Ade Coker has not granted any interview to GNA and therefore those words purported to have been spoken by him were false. It is therefore extremely shocking that faceless people would not only criminally malign an innocent individual but would also try to tarnish the image of an Agency that has stood for truth, credibility and objectivity for more than 57 years”.
It threatened the Agency was referring the matter to the National Media Commission and “would also take the necessary steps to ensure that media houses (print, electronic, online) that are not subscribers to GNA files would be prevented from using the Agency’s stories”.
“These are necessary steps to ensure that the image of the Agency is protected from hawks parading themselves as media professionals and media owners”, the statement said, and challenged the editors of Ghanaweb to bring forward any proof that show they really received the story in question from the GNA.
