Social media not the way to go; there’s nothing fishy about Nat’l Cathedral – Trustees

The Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the National Cathedral of Ghana, Apostle Professor Opoku Onyinah, has assured all and sundry that the trust the nation – through President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo – has reposed in them in building a state cathedral will not be betrayed.

In that light, he maintained that nothing “fishy” is being done about the monetary matters of the National Cathedral project.

The former Chairman of the Church of Pentecost made this known on Wednesday, June 29, when he addressed journalists on the upcoming National Cathedral Week.

The Week is scheduled to be celebrated from Monday, July 4 to Sunday, July 10.

A total of 100 million Christians are being mobilised to contribute GH¢100 each during the Week to help see the project come to fruition.

Apostle Prof Onyinah conceded that the past few weeks have been a “turmoil” for the trustees but they have been encouraged by some well-meaning friends and relatives.

“We consider the issues that have framed the issues on the National Cathedral very serious, and that is why we asked the Executive Director to respond, which he did on June 17, 2022,” he said.

He acknowledged concerns raised about the project were addressed by the June 17 memo.

“As Trustees, we believe the memo has answered the questions adequately.

“We must emphasise that there is nothing fishy about the monetary affairs. We cannot betray the trust the nation, through the President, has given to us. And so, we will appeal that issues of clarification are directed to the Secretariat.”

The National Cathedral project has stirred controversy recently after documents showed funds were taken from the government vault, particularly the Ministry of Finance, to be pumped into the project.

This was seen as a contrast to earlier promises by government officials including the President that the project will be funded by private individuals.

But a statement from the Secretariat last week disclosed that the National Cathedral is registered under the Companies Act 1963, Act 179 as a state-owned company but not profit-making.