Tunnel End Investment Company has demanded an apology from a Nigerian journalist, Jackson Ude over malicious tweeter publication where he accused the company of receiving 3billion Naira.
A statement made available to IGBERE TV by Dinne Okpara, the company said the false and malicious story being retweeted by your thousands of Ude’s followers is false and unfounded and was calculated to lower the esteem of the company in the public’s perception of and damage its professional reputation.
The company demanded an unqualified apology together with a retraction of the libelous publication via his tweeter handle within 48 hours while they review other viable legal options available to them to redress the damages.
The statement reads,
“Our attention has been drawn to a series of tweets you released on your official tweeter handle @ jacksonpbn on the 27th of December,2021- where you amongst other several false and malicious allegations published our business account numbers with the First Bank of Nigeria and United Bank of Africa. You alleged with these tweets that our company is complicit in the looting of the Abia treasury.”
“Specifically, you concluded with your injurious and false tweets by alleging and inferring that Three(3) Billion Naira has been paid to either or both of the accounts from the 18 billion Naira released to Abia recently- from intervention from the Federal government. ”
“Whist we concede to your rights as a journalist include the impeded publication of your journalistic and investigation endeavours, however, we believe that it is a trite and cardinal principle in journalism to always seek the truth in your stories by availing parties in your story the opportunity to respond to information at your disposal for a balanced and professional portrayal of your publications. Unfortunately, these referenced tweets fall short of the rigours of this time tested professional standard and have caused injurious harm and reputational damage to us.”
“Our Company-Tunnel End and Investment Limited is a top tier construction and engineering company with a major bias on road construction and turnkey projects across Nigeria. We have embarked on major and landmark engineering and construction projects that predate the present Abia government and has equally been involved in major construction contracts with the Federal Government that predate the present Abia Government.”
” We are a corporate responsible company with a strong emphasis on ethical governance of our operations as can be gleaned from our tax records and other records with the Nigerian law enforcement agencies. We do not have a single record in ……years of our operation. We have been involved in the construction of roads in Abia as in other states based on these strong track records on timeous, ethical and qualitative delivery of our contractual mandates.”
“Our contractual relationship with Abia State has been based on our professional reputation and our engineering feats on record. Whilst we have delivered on these contractual specifications and handed over to the government on most of these jobs, the government of Abia, on record, is indebted to us in Billions of Naira from some of these delivered jobs to date.”
“Therefore, we are piqued to have come across your libelous publication where you recklessly published our account numbers while alleging that 3 billion was paid into the account when our company has not received any 3billion Naira in either or both of the published accounts from interventions released to Abia or any other fund released as alleged.”
“This false and malicious story being retweeted on your handle by your thousands of followers being false and unfounded was calculated to lower the esteem of the company in the public’s perception of us and damage our professional reputation. And has indeed put our numerous workers on-site in Abia in harm’s way by endangering their lives from Abians who believed your story.”
“We believe your mendacious publication was actuated by malice and deliberately orchestrated to portray us as a fraudulent company and complicit in the so-called looting of Abia treasury.”
“In the light of the foregoing, we demand an unqualified apology together with a retraction of the libelous publication in your tweeter handle within 48 hours while we review other viable legal options available to us to redress these damages.”
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