Policy think tank, IMANI Africa, has rendered an apology to the CEO of the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC), Dr K. K. Sarpong, and Fueltrade Limited, a mid and upstream petroleum company, for “injurious statements” made against them at a public forum.

Titled: ‘Retraction and Apology to Dr KK Sarpong and Fueltrade Limited,’ IMANI Africa said it retracts and apologises to Dr. Sarpong and Fueltrade Limited for the comments.

At the said event, the IMANI Vice President, Kofi Bentil, alleged that the GNPC boss may be involved in a potential conflict of interest situation after he connected Dr. Sarpong with Fueltrade Ghana Limited, the private firm which holds a 2% interest the Deepwater Tano Cape Three Points block.

Mr. Bentil said if this interest still obtains, the position of Dr Sarpong as head of GNPC which is the government’s chief negotiator on oil matters, raises questions.

However, the GNPC Boss has described the claim as false.

“…I wish to state emphatically that neither I nor my family own Fuel Trade as claimed by IMANI Ghana,” Dr. K.K Sarpong stated in a statement Thursday.

According to him, the 2% stake Fueltrade holds in the new discovery, was acquired in 2014, pre-dating his appointment as Chief Executive of the state entity in 2017.

Similarly, Fueltrade said in a separate release that Dr Sarpong was not its owner contrary to IMANI’s claims and also demanded an apology.

IMANI has complied with their demand and issued an apology.

“Kofi Bentil and IMANI Africa issue this statement and unreservedly retract and apologise to Dr K.K. Sarpong and Fueltrade Limited for injurious statements made at IMANI Africa’s April 25 forum.

“In the said forum, as we laid out issues over a 21-slide presentation aimed at bringing focus to some pertinent issues in Ghana’s young oil industry, one of the slides mentioned Dr K. K. Sarpong and Fueltrade in ways they disapproved of, for which Dr Sarpong and Fueltrade have demanded a retraction and apology.

“We, therefore, apologise unreservedly and retract same,” the statement said.