-Management Calls It ?Costly Error?
It is now clear that certain unscrupulous individuals in the Ghanaian society have decided to use The Analyst newspaper to accomplish their selfish interests at the paper?s detriment, The Analyst Management has disclosed over the weekend.
Even though it cited no motive for such action, The Analyst Management said its investigation has concluded that a supplement placed in the paper recently titled, ?Ghana?s Stability Threatens as Opposition Leaders Recruit in the West African Region,? was the work of what it called ?hidden hands.?
It may be recalled that recently, an advertiser placed a paid supplement in this paper alleging that certain opposition figures in Ghana were planning to subvert the Ghanaian Government prior to the pending general and presidential elections.
The supplement also spewed what has now come to be considered as ruthless conjectures about the President of Senegal, Abdullah Wade, of actively supporting the opposition in their recruitment of mercenaries.
Moreover, it claimed that a certain group ?has also been engaged in the spread of gossips in the corridors of power in the Ivory Coast, Guinea, Senegal, Togo and Liberia that Ghana is becoming too powerful and could resurrect the Nkrumah ambition of making Ghana the most powerful nation and nerve center of Africa?s leadership.?
Since then, the Ghanaian media and friends of The Analyst based abroad have been calling and seeking details about the nitty-gritty of the content of the supplement.
But commenting on the issue, The Analyst?s Managing Editor, Stanley Seakor, noted the paper has realized the whole thing was a hoax intended to use its pages to tarnish the reputation of reputable individuals in the subregion who had made enormous sacrifice to restore sanity to Liberia.
?We therefore thought it wise to specifically extend sincere apologies to individuals whose reputations were put at stake, specifically President Abdullah Wade of Senegal and retired military officer Kojo Jikata for the embarrassment the advertisement may have caused,? said Mr. Stanley Seakor, Managing Editor of The Analyst newspaper.
Describing the insertion of the advertisement as a ?costly error,? Mr. Seakor said management has introduced a new regulation authorizing the editorial department to ?reject or edit all advertisements where necessary to ensure that they do not contain unverifiable and embarrassing information.?
He then reiterated earlier clarifications that the advertisement in question was placed without editing because the editorial staff on duty, in the confused state of mind, thought the placement of the advertisement verbatim would be in the interest of the Ghanaian security.