The founder of Glory and Dominion Ministry, in Takoradi, in the Western Region, Prophet Elisha Joshua Kebenlah, has pledged to reconstruct the statue of former President Nana Akufo-Addo, erected at the Effia Nkwanta Hospital roundabout, in November, this year.
He said, the destruction of the former President Akufo Addo‘s statue had both political and spiritual implications for the oil city.
“Politically, we need to condemn the action, even, a day will come whatever President Mahama does, will also be destroyed,” Prophet Kabenlah told journalists at a news conference here yesterday.
“With my resources, I will reconstruct the statute, by January, but, if some persons decide to demolish, that’s their problem. They invite mighty curses on themselves. Yes, the former President has tried to reconstruct the Sekondi road and could not finish, but, that does not mean he had not done anything. We should use the rule of law to resolve the matter and not through violence,” he added.
The pastor noted that that the destruction of the statue of the former President had gone viral on social media, even internationally, and described the event as bad precedent which should not be allowed to continue.
Prophet Kabenlah, who stood at an independent candidate at Evalue Gwira in 2024, believed that the action of those who destroyed former President Akufo-Addo’s statue had spiritual implications for the development of Sekondi-Takoradi and the Western Region, adding, “As a pastor, I will not allow that.”
He said “The cycle of violence should not be allowed to continue because of this statue. It can be a curse on the perpetrators and the development of the region, and the church should not allow that.”
The statue of former President Akufo-Addo, erected at the Effia Nkwanta Regional Hospital roundabout, in the Sekondi-Takoradi metropolis in the Western Region, was destroyed, at dawn, by unknown assailants, on Monday.
When The Ghanaian Times arrived at the scene, at about 7am, the entire architecture of the statue, including the head, legs and torso, had been vandalised, dismembered, blown-off, and scattered at the scene, with iron rods protruding.
As of yesterday, the head of the structure is missing.
Unveiled on November 6, last year, the statue of President Akufo-Addo, in December 2024, was repaired after it suffered similar violence at the back of the leg that is below the knee (the calf region).
The statue, dressed in suit and hewed in bronze, was erected by some chiefs to honour the President for significant development in the region, during his “Thank you tour” in November.
The Western Regional Minister, Kwabena Okyere Darko-Mensah, argued that the erection of the statue was to honour President Akufo-Addo for some key projects including the three-tier Sino hydro PTC interchange and the redevelopment of the Takoradi Market Circle.
“Mr President, we thank you for the fishing facilities at Dixcove and Axim, and port expansion in Takoradi. We are grateful for your good works with Free SHS, expansion works at the Effia Nkwanta Regional Hospital and we will forever remember you, for the love you have for the Western Region,” he added.
Since then, the event has attracted huge controversies and criticisms in Sekondi-Takoradi.
Whiles some critics questioned the timing and relevance of the statue amidst the failed government promises and stalled projects in the region including the PTC interchange and the Takoradi Market circle projects, others condemned the act.
John Dadzie, driver, told The Ghanaian Times that, the erection of the statue was a misplaced priority, and queried “What has this government done for the Western Region?”
FROM CLEMENT ADZEI BOYE, EFFIA NKWANTA
