The Media Misrepresented Me - Bagbin

The Minority Leader in Parliament and MP for Nadowli North constituency, Mr. Alban S.K. Bagbin, has refuted allegations that he said a government contract had been awarded to an unregistered company by the Chief of Staff, Mr. Jake Obetsebi Lamptey.

Mr. Bagbin, who recently made newspaper headlines when he told the press that there was a raw deal in the award of contracts for the rehabilitation of the Castle and the Flag Staff House, yesterday told the Choice FM Agenda programme that those words did not come from him.

In his denial, the MP said, "the media misrepresented me. I did not say that Jake awarded a contract to an unregistered company. What I said is that a contract was awarded to a company that is affiliated to Lintas, a company that Jake was the Managing Director."

Mr. Bagbin said he was in his constituency when the news item was making the rounds in the Ghanaian media and explained that when he got wind of it he made efforts to contact the relevant sources in Accra by phone to refute the allegation without success until he finally sent a messenger to Joy FM to deny the allegation.

According to the MP he took the step to clear the air and to stop the unnecessary tension that was being created. "I sent a message to Joy FM to inform them that I did not say so," he said, adding that it was when he returned to Accra that he read the various versions of what had been published by the media on the issue.

Putting the blame on the media for the misinformation, Mr. Bagbin said, "I read the news reported in various ways by the newspapers. Some newspapers seemed to have picked it from the Ghana News Agency and some from Graphic and they added other things to it."

He said the there was no doubt that Jake's interest in Lintas and the other companies such as Afro Media, that were part of the process of getting the contract, was established

The Minority Leader said at one point Jake came to his office with what he (Bagbin) referred to as a 'love letter' or letter of notice before action from his lawyer and they both discussed the issue at length. "After I briefed him about what the situation was he (Jake) said 'I was going to sue you for ?100 million and I have now lost my money,' to which I replied jokingly that if he was broke why doesn't he consult me?"

He said he even took the trouble to call the office of his (Jake's) lawyer and left a message for him with regards to the issue.

Commenting on the contract sum, Mr. Bagbin insisted that it was ?1.9 billion rather than the ?1.2 billion that the government has announced. "I still insist on the fact that the contract is ?1.9 billion and not ?1.2 billion. I will be prepared to assist any committee that wants to investigate it," he stressed.

The MP insisted that his source of information of the cost of the contract was credible said that it was not sufficient for them to deny the allegations but they should have added that the contract was not awarded through tender and that it was awarded through a selective process. "I thought they were coming to clear the air. I am surprised the companies involved were not mentioned," he said, adding "they should have told us the breakdown of the items involved so that what I am saying could be verified."