Media war against BOST is act of blackmail – Minister

Mr Emmanuel Boakye Agyarko, Minister of Energy on Thursday said the on-going media war against Bulk Oil Storage and Transportation could be a blackmail warning; “I cannot sit down for such things to continue.

“We will not sit down under blackmail”.

Mr Boakye Agyarko hinted that the truth about the whole relentless attack on BOST would soon be told and Ghanaians would know who is deceiving the general public and expressed indignation against the Chamber of Petroleum Consumers (COPEC) ‘consistent attacks,’ on Mr Alfred Obeng Boateng, BOST Managing Director.

The Energy Minister noted that it was overwhelming that COPEC had been attacking the MD of BOST even when they lacked understanding about the issues they were accusing the MD of.

Interacting with the media in Accra, the Energy Minister however welcomed COPEC’s, decision to petition the Special Prosecutor to investigate crude oil transaction between BOST and an “unlicensed private” oil firm, BB Energy.

The Energy Minister noted that, “the fact that you have gone to petition the Special Prosecutor does not mean that you are right. Because if that is the case otherwise everybody who goes to the court first will win his or her case”.

Mr Duncan Amoah, Executive Secretary of COPEC-Ghana has accused the management of BOST for allegedly causing financial loss to the state in the sale of some barrels of crude oil.

He claimed Ghana lost an estimated GHS30million in revenue when 1.8million barrels of crude oil was sold to an “unlicensed company” BB Energy.

He alleged that the oil was sold to the private company at a discount of two dollars a barrel when prices on the international market were on the rise.

Mr Albert Mantey, Head of Fuel Trade at BOST had refuted the allegations by Mr. Amoah, insisting that, the company did nothing wrong in the sale of the fuel in question.

He claimed that Mr Amoah was being pushed to peddle lies and falsehood about BOST in a bid to damage the reputation of the company.

Not satisfied with the response from BOST, COPEC petitioned the Special Prosecutor to investigate the issue and prosecute the wrongdoers.

Source: GNA