Yemisi Izuora/Agency Report
SPRINGFIELD Group, an energy company in Nigeria, has refuted claims in sections of the media in Ghana and Nigeria that it is involved in money laundering, bribery and corruption.
According to the company, the said publications were mere fabrications.
The company explained that it had dealt with reputable oil companies in Ghana and Nigeria, as well as on the international stage, and had built a solid reputation it had to protect according to a statement by the Head of Human Resource and Public Affairs of the company, Mr George Ayebah.
The statement noted that the said publications linked the activities of the company to the charges levelled against the former Petroleum Minister of Nigeria, Mrs Alison Meduka, for alleged money laundering, bribery and corruption.
“We view with great concern rumours emanating from segments of the social, print and electronic media that our company is one of those involved in unwholesome activities in the oil and gas industry in Nigeria.
“We, therefore, call on the general public to discard such information and treat it with the contempt it deserves,” it said.
For nearly a decade, the statement said, Springfield Group had partnered reputable companies such as the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC), the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) and the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR), all within the Gulf of Guinea, and internationally BP, Total, Chevron and Glencore.
“In all these dealings, we have abided by all industry regulations and successfully met all our financial obligations to these partners,” it stressed.
“We state categorically that these published rumours are false, baseless and calculated to do untold harm to our business interests and undermine our hard-won reputation.
We will continue to play our part in the development of the oil and gas industry in the Gulf of Guinea for the benefit of our people,” it said.
“In the same vein, we will robustly defend our company’s reputation against any media or persons who will attempt to tarnish it,” it added.
For those reasons, the statement indicated, the company had instructed its lawyers to file libel law suits against such media houses for participating in the publication of falsehood against its Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Mr Kevin Okyere, and the company in general and not making the necessary enquiries before publishing such false stories.