He didn’t know what he was saying – Ursula responds to Murtala’s plagiarism claim

Minister for Communications and Digitalization Ursula Owusu-Ekuful has refuted claims that her recent address to Parliament on the disruption in internet services was plagiarised.

Speaking on Peace FM’s Kokrokoo Morning Show, the minister said she did not feel compelled to respond to the allegation made against her by Tamale Central Member of Parliament Ibrahim Murtala Muhammed on the floor of the House.

“I went to Parliament to address the House about the recent cut in our internet services, and after my speech, one MP accused me of plagiarising my speech from Nigeria. But I realised in the moment that he did not know what he was saying, and so it was not necessary for me to respond to him. Sometimes we have to overlook certain things,” she said.

Following the minister’s address on Monday, March 18, 2024, the Tamale Central MP issued an objection, indicating that the minister’s statement was a verbatim copy of a similar statement made by Nigeria’s Ministry of Communication.

However, according to the minister, the speech was the result of information gathered through rigorous research and consultation with various stakeholders in the telecommunications industry.

The minister announced that plans are far advanced for the government to roll out programmes to license additional satellite internet service providers to deal with the disruption to internet services.

She affirmed that it would take a minimum of five weeks for full internet access to be restored as a result of the disruption attributed to seismic activities.

GA/SARA

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