The managing editor of The Daily Dispatch newspaper, Ben Ephson, has finally apologized to the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) for publishing a fake report he attributed to the party as the source.
This was after the party had taken on Mr Ephson and his paper for putting out falsehood concerning a document he claimed was an internal memo from the NPP dated May 1, 2016, supposed to have been authored by a group he called ‘Strategic Advisory Team.’
At a press conference on Wednesday, obviously disappointed acting General Secretary of the NPP, John Boadu, stressed, “Let it be told right here, there is no group in NPP with that particular name and, if there were, we would not spell the name of our flagbearer wrongly.”
The NPP believes the document was concocted by the National Security and the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC), with Ben Ephson being a willing conduit for its publication.
Even though Mr John Boadu admitted to the fact that the NPP recently inaugurated a strategy team, of which he is a member, he noted, “It was not even in place on May 1 to write such an NDC-serving memo which only seeks to paint NPP bad. In fact, the committee started sitting on 5th May, 2016.”
For him, “It is all part of the discredited, unimaginative big NDC plot which says the only way they can hold on to power is to portray the NPP as ‘not ready for power.’ That is what this bogus document seeks to do.”
He therefore, had cause to advise Mr Ephson: “Do not allow your paper to be used for this cheap, an unintelligent piece of trash. It is beneath the reputation you seek to portray,” whiles demanding an immediate retraction and apology from the Daily Dispatch in connection with its story dated 10th August, 2016 (a Wednesday edition), No: 013.
It was for this reason, the paper published what some have described as a terse and unapologetic ‘retraction and apology’ in its yesterday edition. It read, “Based on the assertion by the NPP that the said memorandum was not theirs, we retract and apologise – Editor.”
In a statement however, Mr John Boadu said, “Even though the party had wished Mr Ephson contacted the NPP before the publication of some document purported to be from the party, the party still commends Mr Ephson for doing the honourable thing.”
He therefore, sounded a note of caution to the faceless originators of the ‘fake NPP strategic document,’ saying, “The party and teeming supporters are not diverted by such cheap tricks.
“They should spend whatever resources they have on ventures that will improve the huge youth unemployment and crippling cost of living that is killing the Ghanaian people.”
By Charles Takyi-Boadu