Oando goes into overdrive in reaction to Ghana gas infrastructure story
Nigerian oil and gas company, Oando has gone into overdrive in reaction to a ghanabusinessnews.com story about its widely reported selection to partner the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) to build Ghana’s gas infrastructure.
Initial information about the selection which sought to create the impression that Oando has been offered a deal by the GNPC was a press statement issued by Oando on Sunday October 4, 2009.
Most media organisations which carried the information gave the impression that Oando has won a contract. But a ghanabusinessnews.com story on Wednesday October 27, 2010 gave an indication to the contrary and it is to this story that Oando has been reacting.
In a livid response to the story, the company has issued a rejoinder which it has copied to various media outlets, some of which have gone ahead to publish the statement as a rejoinder to a story they did not carry in the first place. Indeed, some of the publications without due reference to Oando’s earlier press statement, are creating the same impression which the original press statement issued by Oando on October 4, 2009 sought to create, which eventually led to the story by ghanabusinessnews.com. In our story, we linked to the first press statement on Oando’s website.
When Oando first issued that press statement, ghanabusinessnews.com was the first Ghanaian news outlet to break the story. Indeed, some international news sources also carried the story which gave the impression that Oando has been offered a deal to that effect. In some of the reports that were carried by some other online sources in which Oando officials commented on the matter, they further strengthened the impression that Oando has won a contract.
Meanwhile, an official of Oando is arriving in the country Sunday as part of the PR machinery to counter the ghanabusinessnews.com story.
Oando is a credible business entity, but good companies make mistakes. Oando’s claims and insistence only goes to muddy the waters, as there are many unanswered questions which we will address in a subsequent report on Monday November 1, 2010. It has been one year since the said selection was made, it would therefore, be instructive to have a progress report on the project, because information available to ghanabusinessnews.com from the GNPC indicates otherwise. Stay logged on and read our follow-up story. Coming soon.
By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi