National Cathedral Secretariat Responds To Ablakwa's 5 Bombshells: Urges MP To Stop Social Media Posts

• The National Cathedral Secretariat has released a statement to counter five allegations or bombshells by MP Okudzeto Ablakwa about the project
• The Secretariat said in the statement dated May 2, 2023, that the allegations are false and meant to damage the reputation of the project and people associated with it
• The Secretariat further responded to each of the five allegations in the four-page statement

The Secretariat of the National Cathedral project has responded to all five allegations of underhand dealings brought against the secretariat by opposition MP Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa.

Ablakwa, MP for North Tongu in the Volta Region, posted on Facebook on Tuesday, May 2, 2023, that he and his international partners have found sleazy dealings by the secretariat in the US.

Among the 5 allegations or "bombshells" is the claim that the address of a registered entity for the National Cathedral of Ghana is fraudulent.

Read also

OSP discloses it is already investigating some of the claims in Prof Frimpong-Boateng's report

Cathedral Secretariat responds to Ablakwa

However, in a press release dated May 2, 2023, the National Cathedral Secretariat said none of the five claims of underhand dealings and murky transactions are true.

The statement signed by the Executive Director of the National Cathedral Secretariat Dr Paul Opoku-Mensah said, while his outfit welcomes Ablakwa's probing questions, he must do so through the right channels.

"...parliamentary oversight is not exercised on social media, but in Parliament or through statutory bodies established for the purpose," he said.

National Cathedral registered in the USA to raise funds

Dr Opoku-Mensah explained that the National Cathedral is registered under a different name, "National Cathedral of Ghana and Bible Museum Inc" as a special-purpose vehicle to raise funds for the project.

Read also

“I’ll repair Free SHS, NHIS”: Mahama appeals to Ghanaians to vote him back as president

He explained further that that entity is not a branch of the National Cathedral of Ghana.

Dr Opoku-Mensah also said it is not accurate that the address of the special-purpose National Cathedral of Ghana and Bible Museum Inc is fraudulent as Ablakwa has said.

Ablakwa had said the address led him to a ramshackle "warehouse".

However, Dr Opoku-Mensah stated that a nonprofit in the US needs a registered agent in the state of registration.

"This DC address is a 'holding address' that receives notices from the regulatory authorities and forwards them to the Nonprofit," the Executive Director of the National Cathedral of Ghana stated.

Minority blocks GH¢80 million funding for Cathedral project

YEN.com.gh reported in a previous story that Minority MPs have blocked the allocation of GH¢80 million for the controversial national cathedral project at the committee level.

The Trade and Industry Committee voted against the allocation for the cathedral project by an 11 to 10 majority decision.

Read also

Gabby Otchere-Darko celebrates spare parts dealer for building ultra modern hospital, peeps react

Minority MPs say the country does not need such a cash-demanding project considering its current economic situation.

Dr Manteaw says Akufo-Addo gradually becoming the worst president in Ghana's history

Meanwhile, YEN.com.gh has reported in a separate story that Dr Steve Manteaw, a renowned policy analyst, has said Nana Akufo-Addo could easily go down in history as the worst president of Ghana.

The co-chair of the Ghana Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative says the presidency's handling of the allegations contained in Prof Frimpong-Boateng's report on illegal mining is poor.

Dr Manteaw told Neat FM that the allegations contained in Prof Frimpong-Boateng's report are too serious for the presidency to downplay them.

Source: YEN.com.gh