David Adjaye, the internationally acclaimed architect and designer of the National Cathedral, has broken his silence regarding the stalled project.
According to Architect David Adjaye, the National Cathedral project is not dead, although he feels the John Mahama administration might just want to trash it.
He asserted that the Mahama administration wants to understand the National Cathedral project through a forensic examination, so it is just on pause.
Speaking during a podcast interview with renowned British journalist Tim Abrahams, David Adjaye detailed, “No, it’s not dead. It is funny. I keep thinking this administration might just want to trash it, but I think there was a lot of misunderstanding in the beginning. Because the process was private in a way — it was government, but it was private. So I think there’s a sense with this administration of really understanding what is going on. It may not be a priority, but it is certainly …
“It is definitely a national project. Love or hate it, there’s something about this project which activates a sense of urgency about the infrastructure that’s required,” he added.
David Adjaye added, “We know this administration is careful, making sure that they have done their forensic examination. So that they can say whether they think there were bad practices or good practices.
“So far, it has passed its tests, but we know they’re still carrying on with forensic testing. But in the meantime, it’s on pause. It is just on pause,” he reiterated.
Meanwhile, President John Dramani Mahama has told the Christian Council it is excessive at this time to spend 400 million dollars on a National cathedral.
According to John Mahama, the 400 million cost for the National Cathedral is excessive, citing that Nigeria built an ecumenical centre at $40 million.
Speaking during a courtesy visit by the Christian Council of Ghana to the Jubilee House on November 18, 2025, John Mahama stated, “I believe that at this time and age, with all the problems we have, $400 million to build a cathedral is excessive. I know Nigeria have built an ecumenical centre and I’ve been there.
It’s a decent, beautiful place, and they built it for $40 million. And so, maybe some of the things are excessive, you know. Let’s find somewhere, all of us, on the National Day of Thanksgiving and worship. We can all go there and worship God and thank him for what he has done for us,” he said.
President John Mahama further added that after the forensic audit into the National Cathedral, he will engage the Christian community to see how Ghana can build a place that is decent for worship.
“When that forensic audit is over, our intention is to have a broad-based consultation with the Christian community to see how we can build a place that is decent for us to worship. But apart from that, make it a centre where people can come and, I mean, look at its architecture and all that and find that Christ, you know, has a place in our hearts, in our nation. And so, when the time comes, we’ll do that consultation and we’ll decide together how we want to go forward,” he added.
Additionally, Veteran broadcaster Kwesi Pratt has boldly told President John Dramani Mahama that the government of Ghana has no business building a place of worship.
Mr Pratt made this known when he lashed out over the Christian Council of Ghana’s plea to President John Mahama to complete the stalled National Cathedral project.
According to Kwesi Pratt, the people of Ghana did not elect President Mahama to pray for them but to use the country’s resources to ensure that resources are used sensibly to resolve their concrete problems.
He boldly asserted that Ghanaians can pray for themselves in their numerous religious centres.
Kwesi Pratt expressed his disappointment with the Christian Council, which admitted that the people of Ghana are going through excruciating hardship, but asked the President to continue building the National Cathedral.
Listen to him below:
JUST IN: David Adjaye, the architect of the National Cathedral, says the project will not be abandoned. He explained that the cathedral serves the country’s dominant faith community and dismissed claims that it won’t be completed. He added that religion is one of Ghana’s… pic.twitter.com/V9Ht66plsj
— Ghana Chronicles (@_GhChronicles) December 2, 2025