The Secretariat of the National Cathedral has dismissed claims of paying gospel musician Sonnie Badu for his performance at the fundraising launch of the facility in the US in 2019.
Multiple media reports had alleged that artistes who performed at the launch in Kumasi were paid GH?30,000 each.
Sonnie Badu who ministered at the event in Washington DC on February 8, 2019, is said to have received $50,000. The Secretariat denies this claim.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, Dr. Paul Opoku-Mensah, the Executive Director of the National Cathedral of Ghana, said: “The Secretariat of the National Cathedral has not paid any money, neither is it aware of any such payment, to Sonnie Badu.”
This clarification comes on the back of the recent controversies that have surrounded the ongoing construction of Ghana’s National Cathedral.
In response to the claim regarding the alleged payment, Sonnie Badu said he was not given a dime for his performance, adding that “not even a seat was provided for me and my team.”
He disclosed this in response to a post on social media drawing his attention to the allegations.
Following this revelation, the Ningo-Prampram MP, Sam George called on the government to disclose who took the money.
“They claimed to have paid Sonnie Badu $50,000 for a song ministration at the launch in the US. Now he has come out to say he was not given a dime and not even a seat was offered to him and his team. So who took the $50,000? Surely the Trustees do not know about this!”
“Again, they claimed to have paid GHS30,000 to each of the gospel artistes who ministered at the launch here in Accra. Can those artistes also confirm if they received these monies?,’ he quizzed in a Facebook post on Tuesday, June 21.
Again, Sam George, has asked the churches in the country to distance themselves from the controversial National Cathedral project.
He said their association with the project will do their reputation more harm than good.
Sam George in his Facebook post indicated that although he had wanted to remain silent on the issues surrounding the project, current developments have compelled him to speak up.
