Renowned investigative journalist Manasseh Azure Awuni has clarified reports regarding a legal dispute between himself and the Chief Executive Officer of Engineers & Planners, Ibrahim Mahama.

This follows demands from Mr. Mahama’s legal team, which alleged that Manasseh's latest book, The President Ghana Never Got, contains false claims that tarnish the businessman's reputation.

The controversy centers on a chapter of the book that delves into the sale of Universal Merchant Bank (UMB), formerly known as Merchant Bank, in 2013.

The chapter suggests that the sale of the state-owned bank to the private equity firm Fortiz was mired in controversy. Manasseh's book points out that South Africa's FirstRand Bank had offered GH₵176 million for 75% of the bank's shares, but Fortiz secured the deal for just GH₵90 million in exchange for 90% of the shares.

A key factor, according to the book, was the substantial debt owed to Merchant Bank by Ibrahim Mahama, which, Manasseh claims, contributed to the bank's financial difficulties at the time. This connection between Mr. Mahama’s debts and the bank's struggles has become a focal point of the current legal concerns.

Responding to the accusations, Mr. Mahama’s solicitors are demanding a retraction and an apology, asserting that the information presented in the book is false. They clarified that the debt in question was owed by Engineers & Planners, a company owned by Ibrahim Mahama, and not by Mr. Mahama personally.

In addressing these concerns, Manasseh Azure Awuni has stood by the content of his book, stating that he has forwarded the demands to his legal team for review.

“I have received calls about the news that Ibrahim Mahama has given me seven days to delete pages 89 and 90 of my book because the information is inaccurate. That is not accurate,” Manasseh explained in a statement. He added that the actual request from Mr. Mahama's lawyers involved the correction of a specific paragraph in the chapter on the economy, which states that Ibrahim Mahama was indebted to Merchant Bank at the time of its sale.

“Mr. Ibrahim Mahama's lawyers have written to me concerning a paragraph of the book… His lawyers say it was a company owned by Ibrahim Mahama, Engineers and Planners, which owed the bank, not Ibrahim Mahama. I have forwarded their demands to my lawyers, and the matter will be addressed soon,” he further clarified.

Manasseh did not provide additional details on how his legal team would respond but assured that the issue would be handled professionally.