The Executive Director of the National Cathedral Project, Dr. Paul Opoku-Mensah, has responded to the resignations of Archbishop Nicholas Duncan-Williams and Rev. Eastwood Anaba from the Board of Trustees overseeing the Cathedral’s construction.
In their resignation letter on October 17, 2023, the clergymen mentioned their exist was due to the Board’s reluctance to conduct an audit of the project.
They also stated they hadn’t received updates since their initial call for an audit in January 2023.
However, Dr. Opoku-Mensah, in a press statement on the same day, clarified that an ongoing audit was indeed being conducted by Deloitte.
He explained that several meetings had taken place after the call for an audit, and all necessary information had been shared with the respected clergymen, refuting their claims.
Dr. Opoku-Mensah further detailed the progress of the audit, mentioning that the engagement letter with Deloitte was signed on March 27, 2023, and the audit was set up on their system by May 17, 2023. He confirmed that the first part of the audit was expected to be completed by July 2023.
He also pointed out that despite Archbishop Duncan-Williams and Rev. Eastwood Anaba not being physically present at some meetings, they were provided with copies of all documents, including the Executive Director’s report, related to the audit process.
Hence, the claim of receiving no information about the audit was deemed false.
“Following this, the engagement letter for Deloitte to officially begin the audit was drafted and signed by Deloitte on March 27, 2023, and set up on their system on May 17, 2023. The expectation was that the first part of the audit was to be completed in July 2023. The audit process, so far, can be confirmed with the auditors, Deloitte.”
“Although Archbishop Duncan Williams and Rev. Eastwood Anaba were not present at both the June 2023 and September 2023 meetings, they and all the other Board members who were not physically present at the meeting were sent copies of all the documents for the Board meeting, including the Executive Director’s report. The claim that they have received no information, whatsoever, on the audit process is therefore false,” he added.
