Govt did not sponsor national mosque – National Cathedral CEO apologizes over misleading comment

He said the claim that the government of Ghana funded the National Mosque at Kanda is untrue.

Following a press release issued by the Coalition of Muslims, Ghana (COMOG) challenging the claims, Dr. Opoku-Mensah in a statement dated Monday, June 13, 2022, said he never posited during his appearance on GBC’s Talking Point programme that, “the government of Ghana spent state resources in the construction of the National Mosque.”

He however noted that it has been established to him that the state also did not facilitate the construction as he had actually posited.

“What I had been informed was ‘facilitation’ – but not ‘state resources’ – did not actually happen,

“I retract, and apologize, for the use of ‘state facilitation’ in my response, and deeply regret the pain it might have caused the COMOG and the Muslim Umma in Ghana,” the CEO pleaded.

Dr Opoku-Mensah further to his apology asked members of the Ghanaian public to desist from equalizing “discussions on the National Cathedral and the National Mosque as they are separate projects.”

Board of Trustees of the National Cathedral Pulse Ghana

Also, the NDC MP for Bolgatanga Central, Isaac Adongo has disclosed that the National Cathedral will cost the nation a lot of money.

In a post on Facebook, the opposition lawmaker decried the abuse of funds by the government in the construction of the Cathedral.

“It's a shame. Looting in the name of the Cathedral is inconclusive. The cost of the cathedral is now a moving target. The dream of it was $100m. At design $200m.”

“At demolition and excavation, the costs shot up to $250m. It is now billed at $350m without a block on-site but ponds. Expect it to be $500m at substructure and $1 billion at full completion. Criminals looting in the name of God,” he added.