Founder and General Overseer of the International Central Gospel Church (ICGC), Pastor Mensa Otabil, has triggered fresh controversy after describing Ghanaians as “small-minded” while addressing the fiercely debated National Cathedral project.
Speaking during his Sunday service on August 9, 2026, the influential preacher argued that politics and partisan divisions had prevented Ghanaians from appreciating the idea of constructing a major Christian monument. His remarks were also carried during the church’s live Sunday broadcast.
Otabil lamented that Ghana had attempted to build a National Cathedral, only for the project to face resistance—including criticism from Christians themselves.
“We are so small-minded that we allow politics to blind us,” he said while discussing the controversy surrounding the project.
According to Otabil, Christians should not be afraid of undertaking ambitious projects in the name of their faith. He suggested that building something significant “to the glory of God” should not automatically be viewed negatively simply because of its scale.
His comments have immediately reignited one of Ghana’s most divisive public debates.
The National Cathedral, initiated during the administration of former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has remained controversial amid questions surrounding its financing, expenditure and stalled construction.
Otabil’s latest intervention is particularly striking because of his earlier association with the project. The National Cathedral Secretariat stated in 2022 that although he was initially appointed among proposed trustees, he had not been a member of the incorporated Board of Trustees since July 2019, while remaining interested in the project.
His “small-minded” remark has now added fresh fuel to the national conversation, with supporters likely to see it as a challenge for Ghanaian Christians to think bigger, while critics may question whether objections to the Cathedral can simply be dismissed as political thinking.
One thing is certain: Pastor Mensa Otabil has thrown the National Cathedral controversy right back into the spotlight.
