We invited Radio Gold to Nana Addo's media encounter - Mustapha Abdul-Hamid

Government has debunked claims that they ignored Pro-NDC radio station, Radio Gold during the maiden edition of Nana Addo’s official interaction with the media at the Flagstaff House on Tuesday.

The Minister of Information, Mustapha Abdul-Hamid who was the coordinator at the event says the claims are “untrue” as purported.

Speaking on NEAT FM’s morning show, ‘Ghana Montie’, Mustapha Hamid was emphatic that he personally ordered the inclusion of a Radio Gold journalist to partake in the event.

“It’s not true that we did not invite them, I ordered my deputy and personal assistant to call them. We spoke to a gentleman called Alfred; I personally spoke to him and gave him a special invitation to come to the event,” he said.

“I wonder why they are saying we did not invite them. Even during the program, I was personally going around asking if the Radio Gold journalist we invited has come. I knew this kind of allegations will come out after the program so I personally invited them. I am telling you on authority,” the Minister told host, Kwesi Aboagye.

Perry Okudzeto's Assertion

However, reports indicated yesterday that Radio Gold, a media house affiliated to the National Democratic Congress (NDC) was not invited.

Responding to these reports, Perry Okudzeto, Deputy Information Minister said it was not only Radio Gold that was not invited.

According to him, it was not intentional and that they couldn’t have invited all the media houses in the country because of the numbers.

He said there were a total of over 350 radio stations, over 150 newspapers and close to 20 television stations in Ghana, therefore, “it was not a possibility that we will have a representative from every single media house.”

Explaining why Radio Gold was not invited, Mr Okudzeto said it was not done with a motive to discriminate against media houses and their political affiliations.

“There is no discrimination as to particular media houses that have been invited,” he said, and added that the Ministers at the Ministry of information when they took office visited all media houses including Peace FM, Radio Gold and Montie FM to interact and see how they could collaborate because, “they also represent a section of the Ghanaian society.”

He however assured that those media houses that were not invited will get the opportunity to be invited another time.

“Media houses in the country are many and so we found a way of pruning down the number. It was not because of any political affiliation . . . we had to send out invitation to some and not all. It is not only Radio Gold that was not invited; other stations in Accra were also not invited. It is not under his (Akufo-Addo) presidency that we are going to discriminate against a particular media house.

Another opportunity will come again and some media houses will be invited, others will not be invited. We cannot invite or call every journalist or media house to come. It is about Ghana and how we move forward as a nation. It is not about whether or not a particularly media house was invited,” he added in an interview on Peace FM's morning show 'Kokrokoo'.