Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, a member of parliament for North Tongu, has been ordered by Attorney-General Godfred Yeboah Dame to withdraw and repent for making the statement that he had served as the National Cathedral's secretary from the organization's establishment in 2019.
In a statement released on Wednesday, June 22, 2022, the A-G threatened legal action against Mr. Ablakwa if he did not withdraw and apologise for the charge.
This comes after Mr. Ablakwa claimed on his social media page that Mr. Dame was registered as the National Cathedral company's company secretary during the time he served on the Public Procumbent Board, which approved a sole source contract for the architectural firm Adjaye and Associates to design the structure.
In response to the post, Mr. Dame rejected the allegations that procedures leading to the incorporation of the National Cathedral of Ghana as a private company violated "conflict of interest" guidelines.
The Attorney General claims that the accusation against him is "completely unfounded."
He said that "the Public Procurement Authority (PPA) on December 13th 2018 obtained approval of an application to single-source Messrs. Sir David Adjaye & Associates."
A-G to Ablakwa: "Retract, apologise for lie against me, or face legal action."
He claims that on July 18, 2019, the National Cathedral of Ghana was established as a business limited by guarantee (a non-profit organisation).
"Quite obviously, no business called the National Cathedral of Ghana had been founded for me to be Secretary of, or have any alleged interest in, to disclose, at the time of the approval by PPA (whose governing board I sat on in my old post as Deputy Attorney-General). I was unable to have a purported stake in a business that didn't exist. This obvious reality would not have escaped Mr. Okudzeto Ablakwa's notice if he had taken the time to carefully study or review the pertinent documents, as he ought to have done.
A-G to Ablakwa: "Retract, apologise for lie against me, or face legal action."
For the avoidance of doubt, I state that I have no personal interests that interfere with the discharge of my duties as a Minister in my capacity as Secretary (not a director or member) of a not-for-profit organisation owned by the State.
The State frequently names public authorities, including Ministers, to serve as members of the board of directors to preserve the public interest when the State is a shareholder, he emphasised. "The record shows this reality even in respect of corporations limited by liability (profit-making enterprises).