The Member of Parliament (MP) for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa has said that the report issued by the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) on the National Cathedral scandal lacks substance, particularly regarding the double identity of Rev. Kusi Boateng.

Mr Ablakwa petitioned CHRAJ to investigate the construction of the Cathedral after suspecting the mismanagement of public funds. However, he expressed dissatisfaction with the outcome of CHRAJ’s investigation, describing the report as "dumb."

“The CHRAJ report, in many parts, is very dumb. This is an explosive report,” he said.

He explained that CHRAJ had confirmed that "this project (the Cathedral) is illegal. These are not my words, it is CHRAJ’s words that the contract to Rebade is illegal and devoid of validity." Hence, he is surprised that the outcome of the report does not align with the actual findings of corruption.

In his petition to CHRAJ two years ago, the MP also requested an investigation into the double identity of Rev. Kusi Boateng, the Secretary of the Board of Trustees for the project. Meanwhile, CHRAJ referred the matter of identity theft to the Attorney-General.

For the MP, he believes he has provided enough evidence to support the claims of double identity and a conflict of interest concerning the General Secretary, and he is therefore not satisfied with CHRAJ’s recommendations.

“If you look at all the evidence I provided, why is it that CHRAJ decided to focus only on the passport (of Rev. Kusi)? What about the evidence I provided from the DVLA database? How about the Ghana Card database, which shows that he has a Ghana Card under another name? How about the Electoral Commission?” he questioned.

Mr Ablakwa, speaking on Joy FM’s Super Morning Show on Thursday, November 28, emphasised that the CHRAJ report is "very dumb, very explosive."

Also speaking on the show, Nana Akomea, the Vice Chairman of Dr Mahamudu Bawumia’s 2024 campaign, agreed with Mr Ablakwa's efforts to exercise oversight, stating, “It is good for a Member of Parliament to try and perform oversight over the use of public funds, so Okudzeto’s efforts are in the right direction.”

However, Mr Akomea disagreed with how the MP described the report. According to him, “If Okudzeto believes that CHRAJ could have done a bit more, that is fine, but you don’t describe their work as flabby.”

He said that the MP is the same person who has praised aspects of the report, so if he later identifies gaps, he should have “pointed them out and not used words that undermine the institution.”

The National Cathedral scandal involves the Board of Trustees, who have mismanaged state funds and spent some GHC2.6 million without proper accountability. The Board’s Secretary, Rev. Kusi, is central to the corruption, as he allegedly has a double identity and has awarded contracts to a company with which he is affiliated.

Meanwhile, the much-anticipated Cathedral, promised by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, remains a distant dream, as the project is still at its foundation stage despite the expenditure of over GHC339 million. The President has yet to comment on the issue following CHRAJ’s report.