Coalition of Muslim Organizations, Ghana (COMOG) has demanded apology from the CEO of the National Cathedral, Dr. Paul Opoku-Mensah, following the latter’s “deliberate falsehood” about the construction of the National Mosque to justify the use of tax payers money to construct the “controversial” National Cathedral.
It comes after the Dr. Opoku-Mensah claim that Government spent state resources in the construction of the National Mosque, located at Kanda in Accra.
Acting on behalf of all Muslim organizations in Ghana, COMOG stepped in to correct some misinformation about the National Mosque, which was commissioned in July Last year.
In a statement issued on Monday 13th July, COMOG set the records straight about the Mosque, challenging the false-peddling Dr. to “retract and apologize” to the entire Muslim Ummah in Ghana.
“Our attention has been drawn to a statement as headlined above, made by the Chief Executive Officer of the National Cathedral, Dr. Paul Opoku-Mensah suggesting that the Government of Ghana spent state resources in the construction of the National Mosque, located at Kanda in Accra, the statement read.
“He made this spurious statement on the GTV Talking Point program aired in the evening of Sunday the 12th June 2022.
“We, the Coalition of Muslim Organizations, Ghana (COMOG), on behalf of all Muslim organizations in Ghana wish to state unequivocally, and without any fear or favor that, not a single pesewa from the state by any political regime was contributed to the construction of the Kanda National Mosque.”
The National Cathedral project according to Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta is expected to cost $350,000 equivalent to GHS2.8 million.
Government has come under pressure to abort its ambition for the National Cathedral project, given the country’s economic downturn and tough times being faced by the citizenry.
This was after it emerged government recently released GH¢25 million to the National Cathedral Secretariat as additional seed money for the project, which was originally presented to Ghanaians as the President’s personal pledge to God that will not be executed with taxpayer funds.
And COMOG is of the view that the National Mosque should not be drawn into falsehood to defend the construction of the Cathedral, which has so far received widespread condemnation from majority of Ghanaians.
“The CEO of the National Cathedral made this statement in an attempt to justify the sum of over GHc25 million of state resources as seed money for the construction of the most controversial project in Ghana today, the National Cathedral,” said the statement signed by its president Hajj Abdul Mannan.
“As a Muslim organization with the mandate to protect the image and sanctity of Islam and the reputation of the Ummah in Ghana, we can’t tolerate such a deliberate falsehood by a high-profile appointee of Dr. Opoku-Mensah’s stature when indeed, the facts do not support his claim.
“Contrary to his statement, we Muslims have rather been shortchanged in the matter of our Accra Central Mosque which was pulled down by the state, only for Government to compensate us with a bare land for that loss. Our magnanimity towards the state and our commitment to peaceful coexistence must not be misconstrued by some people to be a weakness.”
In its demand for retraction and apology from Dr. Opoku-Mensah, COMOG further urged GTV to give its “rejoinder” equal and fair publication in the next edition of GTV Talking Point program.
“We therefore, by this statement wish to call on Dr. Paul Opoku-Mensah to come out and retract that deliberate falsehood and apologize to the entire Muslim Ummah in Ghana. We also demand that, this rejoinder be read in the next edition of GTV Talking Point program, to correct the falsehood,” it added.
Members of the Board of Trustees had earlier denied using tax
