Elikem Kotoko, the Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the Forestry Commission, has said he would be happy to see former President Akufo-Addo hauled to court to answer questions about the National Cathedral hole.
According to Elikem Kotoko, the National Cathedral was an organised crime unit set up to siphon or launder state funds.
Speaking on JoyNews’ AM Show on Thursday, October 22, Elikem Kotoko fumed, “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 further compared Akufo-Addo’s actions to those of Côte d’Ivoire’s former Minister, Boahen, saying, “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.”
He added, “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”.
“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.”
Elikem Kotoko noted, “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”.
“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.”
Also, Solomon Owusu, the Communications Director of the United Party (UP), has boldly stated that former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo should be standing trial facing the laws of the land.
According to Solomon Owusu, there were some things Akufo-Addo did when he was president which were illegal.
Speaking in an interview on As It Is in Ghana on Rainbow Radio 92.4FM, Solomon Owusu stated, “When you even hand over the presidency to a class one pupil, that mind would have performed extremely well than Akufo-Addo.”
“It is not degrading. He is the one who destroyed himself. Under his watch, he invested over $50 million in digging the world’s most expensive hole. He got up one day and told us he wanted to construct a cathedral for God.
“While promising God, he did not tell God where the funds would come from, only to assume office and use state resources to dig the world’s most expensive hole, even after claiming that the building would be done through private funding.”
Solomon Owusu elaborated, “I have proposed that he must be sued. There were some things he did that were illegal. Our laws clearly state that when the state does not have any contract with an individual or company, we should not pay them.
“However, former President Akufo-Addo set the record of giving David Adjaye almost GH¢5 million when he had no contract with the Republic of Ghana.”
Mr Owusu further demanded accountability, “We will continue to mount pressure on the current government, particularly the Attorney General, to initiate legal action against those who have stolen our resources.
“Ghanaians voted for them to ensure that those who stole our money are prosecuted and our stolen funds retrieved. The Attorney General and President Mahama must do what is right for their God and the people of Ghana.
“Akufo-Addo should be standing trial and facing the laws of the land. He should be prosecuted seriously. A former Agriculture Minister who engaged in bribery and corruption was sentenced to death in China; another one in Libya has been sentenced for corruption, and Akufo-Addo should not be given an exception.”