Gbande: NDC Must Apologise to NPP If Cathedral Corruption Claims Prove False

The ruling National Democratic Congress has been told by one of its own senior officials that it owes the New Patriotic Party a collective apology but only if an investigation shows the corruption allegations it levelled at the stalled National Cathedral project while in opposition turn out to be unfounded.

What Gbande Actually Said
In a Facebook post, NDC Deputy General Secretary Mustapha Gbande said that if the party's claims about the cathedral's financing and management were wrong, "we must first collectively apologise to the NPP and the previous government."

Crucially, the statement is conditional rather than an admission: Gbande's argument is that the NDC has a duty to establish the truth of its own past allegations before committing to any decision on rebuilding the project, not that those allegations have already been disproven.

He framed a full investigation as more urgent than any reconstruction plan or oversight committee currently being floated, and warned against the party rushing into a rebuild without first settling the accountability question.

"Politics without boundaries, limits and principles is a dangerous arena," he said, adding that he would personally welcome a completed monument built "to the glory of God" provided the accountability question is resolved first.

Why This Is Surfacing Now
Gbande's remarks were a direct reaction to the Christian Council of Ghana's decision to set up a technical committee to examine the cathedral's future, including unresolved questions about its funding, its location, and whether it should proceed at all. The intervention effectively puts the country's largest Christian ecumenical body in the middle of a dispute that has been running since the project was first conceived.

The Long Backstory
The National Cathedral was initiated under former president Nana Akufo-Addo, who described it as a national interdenominational place of worship tied to a personal covenant with God. While in opposition, the NDC repeatedly questioned the project's finances, most notably asking how an estimated $58 million could have been spent on excavation and related preparatory work with little visible progress on the structure itself.

The NPP has pushed back hard on that narrative. An independent audit report dated May 23, 2025 was cited by NPP figures, including Akim Swedru MP Kennedy Nyarko Osei, as clearing the project's directors of misappropriating the $58 million, with Osei arguing the report nowhere alleges funds were squandered.

NPP communicator Ellen Daaku went further, calling the audit a vindication of Akufo-Addo and demanding an "unqualified apology" from the NDC, while another party communicator invoked spiritual consequences for NDC figures over what he called their lies about the project.

The picture has not been entirely one-sided, however. Since taking office, NDC-aligned officials have also raised fresh concerns including a claim by Felix Kwakye that Ghana owes an additional $39 million to the cathedral's contractor beyond what has already been disclosed, and a call for a forensic audit covering aspects of the Secretariat's operations that the earlier audit did not reach. Those live questions are precisely what Gbande says need to be resolved before anyone, including his own party, draws final conclusions.

The Stakes
For the NDC, the political risk is straightforward: having built part of its opposition-era credibility on corruption allegations against a flagship NPP project, an unfavourable investigation outcome would hand the NPP a ready-made talking point heading into future contests. For the NPP, continued unresolved questions about contractor debts and forensic audit gaps mean the vindication it has claimed may be less than final.

Gbande's statement, read carefully, commits the NDC to neither position it commits the party only to following the facts, whichever way the Christian Council's technical committee and any parallel forensic review ultimately point.

Mustapha Bature Sallama
Medical/ Science Communicator,
Private Investigator, Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Analysis,

International Conflict Management and Peacebuilding. ( USIP)

[email protected]
+233555275880

Sources
"National Cathedral: we owe NPP an apology if corruption claims were wrong – Mustapha Gbande" Asaase Radio: https://asaaseradio.com/national-cathedral-we-owe-npp-an-apology-if-corruption-claims-were-wrong-mustapha-gbande/

"Gbande warns NDC against rushing into National Cathedral project" Asaase Radio: https://asaaseradio.com/gbande-warns-ndc-against-rushing-into-national-cathedral-project/

"National Cathedral: 'Apologise to Akufo-Addo or face curses' – NPP's Ellen Daaku warns NDC" Pulse Ghana: https://www.pulse.com.gh/story/national-cathedral-apologise-to-akufo-addo-or-face-curses-npps-ellen-daaku-warns-ndc-2025071109331009466

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"Akufo-Addo owes God, Ghanaians apology for not completing National Cathedral – NDC" MyJoyOnline: https://www.myjoyonline.com/akufo-addo-owes-god-ghanaians-apology-for-not-completing-national-cathedral-ndc/