Freddie Blay, the former National Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) has fired back at Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, the former Vice President and the 2024 flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) over the Akufo-Addo government spending $58 million in public funds on the National Cathedral.
Freddie Blay boldly claimed that $58 million spent on the National Cathedral did not dig a hole in Ghana’s economy.
He noted that the National Cathedral project could have united people and even attracted more money than what was spent on it.
According to him, the National Cathedral brouhaha was just a petty thing in the cause of the NPP’s defeat.
His comment comes on the back of Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, the former Vice President and the 2024 flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) firing shots at his boss former President Akufo-Addo for spending $58 million in public funds on the National Cathedral.
Dr Bawumia asserted that the spending of $58 million in public funds on the National Cathedral also contributed to the NPP’s defeat in the 2024 elections.
“The national cathedral we were not able to complete after $58 million was sunk into it, caused a lot of rage in the public”, Dr Bawumia stated during the NPP’s Thank You tour in the Western Region.
However, speaking to Serwaa Amihere on GHONE TV, Freddie Blay stated, “So far as I am concerned the National Cathedral thing is petty. Maybe will find the use of it later on. Indeed I for one supported it.
I thought it was good. People didn’t see the need for the media will go at it, but I knew and I have travelled around a few other countries that have national cathedrals and mosques. In the long run, it unites people and even attracts more money than what was spent on it. But be it as it is that is what is used against the party. It was about 56 million it didn’t dig a major hole in our economy”.
He further added, “Are you a Christian?” he asked. “Remember when expensive oil was used to wash Jesus’ feet? Some questioned it. But Jesus said, ‘The poor will always be with us.’ Sometimes leaders must take decisions others don’t immediately understand.”
“I don’t believe the cost of that building would exceed what people are claiming. And even if it did, in time, another government will realize it was important and go back to it,”
“Let’s accept that. It may have been used against the party. But it didn’t dig a major hole in our economy”, he claimed.
The National Cathedral was the brainchild of former President Nana Akufo-Addo as a national Christian worship centre and a symbol of Ghana’s religious heritage to thank God for ensuring his victory in election 2016 and 2020.
The National Cathedral project was initiated in 2017 but was mired in controversy due to its high cost, the source of funding, and allegations of embezzlement of funds by its Board of Trustees.
It faced widespread criticism over the handling of its finances and execution, with several allegations of financial mismanagement and corruption surfacing throughout its development.
Watch the video below:
National Cathedral will help the country in the long run and could even attract more money to Ghana’s economy than what was spent to establish it… – Freddie Blay (Former National Chairman, NPP) #GHOneNews #EIBNetwork #GHOneTV #NewsAlert #GHToday @Serwaa_Amihere pic.twitter.com/9rybjkfNk6
— GHOne TV (@ghonetv) April 29, 2025
