Palaver Newspaper Under Attack

..but Editor is unrepentant
The Ghana Palaver newspaper has come under criticism for another of its latest publication that has been challenged by the principal characters involved. The newspaper, last week reported that the Comissioner of CHRAJ, Emile Short had walked off his job in anger and accepted an international job.

It also reported in its Tuesday’s issue that Ghana’s High Commissioner to Canada, Odoi Sykes had suffered a stroke and had been flown down to Accra. The paper also said that the whereabouts of Foreign Minister, Nana Akuffo Addo was unknown.

But all the stories have been found to be fraught with inaccuracies. The CHRAJ issued a statement denying the story. In a follow-up press conference in Accra today, Mr Short who had traveled out of the country on a national assignment when the story was published, described the publication as malicious and false, saying that it has greatly distressed the commission.

A furious Odoi Sykes also called Joy FM from his Ottawa base and insisted that he had not been stricken and immobilized by any disease.

It also emerged that Nana Akuffo Addo headed an ECOWAS delegation that toured eight Western capitals to solicit funds to support the operations of the ECOWAS Peacekeeping Force in Cote d'Ivoire. Infact, the Information Ministry issued a statement announcing his departure.

But the Editor of the Palaver, Joojo Bruce Quansah says he stands by the stories. According to him, he has information that the CHRAJ Commissioner is not happy with his job and will resign soon.

''My source is a very credible one, a reliable source. It is unfortunate that we did not cross check from CHRAJ but we will allow time to sought things out. From where the story is coming from, I am confident that he will soon resign'', he told JOY FM in an interview.

Mr Quansah who could not defend his story about Mr Odoi Sykes’ alleged stroke preferred to dwell on Mr Sykes confession in an interview with JOY FM that he is in good condition but undergoing treatment for prostrate cancer, associated with old age.

''I’m happy with the reaction of Mr Odoi Sykes. He himself said that he has prostrate cancer. Everybody knows that he has not been well and he has been sick for sometime now'', the Palaver Editor noted.

On Nana Akuffo Addo’s trip, Joojo Bruce Quansah said he was not aware that a press statement announcing his trip was issued. ''How many people know that he was out of the country? Maybe it’s only JOY FM who knows''.

According to the Palaver Editor, there is bad blood between the President and Nana Akuffo Addo, hence the decision to leave him out of the President’s trip to Mauritius. He challenged skeptics to prove his allegation wrong when the President embarks on his next trip.