Ex-president Jerry John Rawlings says the authors of the pastoral letter demanding an apology from him have betrayed their conscience and the trust of their followers.

In his first ever response to the call on him to apologize to President Kufuor over the controversial "Atta Ayi Nie, Kufuor Nie" song, President Rawlings says the four church leaders and members of the Swedru Traditional council chose to defend and patronize the 'most corrupt government? instead of calling the government to order for corrupting the moral fabric of the nation.

President Rawlings was out of town attending a meeting of former African heads of state when the leaders of the Methodist Church, Presbyterian Church, Anglican Church and the Ghana Pentecostal Church issued a Pastoral demanding an apology from him for his utterances.

In the wake of the controversy generated by the letter amidst accusations of bias and politicking by the church leaders, the Christian Council of Ghana and the Evangelical Presbyterian Church, Ghana denied been part of the signatories to the letter.

In a statement issued from his office in Accra, President Rawlings concluded that the action of the pastors is a shame.