Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the Forestry Commission, Elikem Kotoko, says he would be glad to see former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo “hauled to court” to answer for alleged financial irregularities surrounding the construction of the National Cathedral, which he describes as “an organised crime unit set up to siphon or launder state funds.”
Speaking on JoyNews’ AM Show on Thursday, October 22, Elikem Kotoko said he would be delighted to see the former president face justice for what he described as an organised scheme disguised as a religious project.
“Let me be frank with you, if wishes were horses, I would be happy to see even former president Nana Addo Dankwah Akufo-Addo being hauled to court to answer for that hole he dug which seems to be an organised crime unit that he set up to siphon or launder state funds,” he fumed.
Mr. Kotoko compared Akufo-Addo’s actions to those of Côte d’Ivoire’s former Minister, Boahen, who, according to him, built a place of worship using private funds—unlike Ghana’s former president, who “even scammed God.”
“Our neighbour in Côte d’Ivoire, Boahen, when he was in his room and had a prayer with his God that he wanted to build for him a place of worship, he did that with private funds. Then President Akufo-Addo, when in opposition, said he was going to build—he has promised God; he even promised God to do that, which meant it was a promise to be fulfilled in the first four years because you were not assured of your second term. And this is somebody who could even scam God.”
The visibly angry Forestry Commission executive said he was disappointed in the moral conduct of the nation’s elderly leaders.
“I am a young person and I frown so much on elderly people not holding in fidelity the virtues that we thought they were supposed to hand over to us,” he lamented.
According to him, the National Cathedral project was nothing but “another avenue to scam the entire nation,” using revered men of God as cover for corruption.
“This whole National Cathedral thing was another avenue to just scam the entire nation, using some of the very notable religious leaders, and it’s been exposed in most of their faces because they spoke so well of this, they were so convinced. Some of them said not a pesewa of public funds will be used, and one of the people I perceived to be criminal let me say the Finance Minister is at large over there.”
He cited inconsistencies between official claims and the actual state of work at the construction site.
“At the time he read the budget, he told us rehabilitation work was 90%. A toddler who visits that place will tell you not even 5% has been done,” he added.
Mr. Kotoko accused the former president of exploiting Ghanaians’ religious devotion to avoid accountability.
“They are walking scot-free, and when you talk of this National Cathedral, President Nana Addo only used our vulnerability as a people—that in anything that we mention God, we are careful how we react, and we are careful how we criticise. So he used God to scam all of us.”
He called for swift investigations and possible prosecution, saying it would serve as a deterrent to future leaders.
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