The government of Ghana has described as “baseless, libelous and scurrilous” a publication by Africawatch magazine titled: ‘The Inside Story of the Oslo Scandal: Conspiracy to Steal’, that sought to impute criminal conduct on the part of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Mrs Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey.

The publication accused the Akufo-Addo-led government of malfeasance in the purchase of a property in Oslo, Norway for use as Ghana’s embassy.

Reports suggest that the government had inflated the price of the property.

The Minority in Parliament alleged that the property was purchased at a cost of $12.1 million instead of $3.5 million.

Responding to the Africawatch magazine publication on the matter, the government, in a statement signed by Mr Eugene Arhin, Director of Communication at the presidency, said: “The allegations in the publication are baseless, libellous and scurrilous and contains nothing but manufactured lies.”

“We are aware of this magazine’s notoriously established agenda of defaming the president through the deliberate publication of false stories about him. The agenda will fail as it has failed before,” the statement added.

The government said it will deal with the publishers, editors and distributors of the publication at the appropriate forum.