Kotoka International Airport to be Renamed to Accra International Airport
- The government plans to change the name of Ghana’s international airport from Kotoka International Airport
- The announcement was made during a leadership media briefing as legislators returned to Parliament
- Majority Leader, Mahama Ayariga, disclosed that the change would be effected through legislation to be laid by the Minister for Transport
The government is preparing to place a bill before Parliament to change the name of the Kotoka International Airport to Accra International Airport.
The Majority Leader in Parliament, Mahama Ayariga, has disclosed the plans during a media briefing on February 3.
Source: UGC
He indicated that this was part of the outlined bills and regulations expected to come before the House during the current meeting.
During his briefing, Ayariga said the Minister for Transport will present the bill to seek parliamentary approval for the proposed change.
“We are changing the name of our airport from Kotoka International Airport to Accra International Airport. A bill will be brought by the Minister for Transport for the name to be changed.”
The proposed renaming follows years of calls by sections of the public and civil society groups who argue that the current name does not reflect Ghana’s democratic values, as it honours Emmanuel Kwasi Kotoka, one of the key figures involved in the 1966 coup that overthrew Ghana's first president.
Democracy Hub and the Convention People’s Party had sued at the Supreme Court to remove “Kotoka” from the airport.
They argued that honouring Kotoka contradicted Ghana’s democratic values.
About Kotoka and his coup
Kotoka rose to become the Second-in-Command and, in 1959, became the Platoon Commander with the rank of Captain.
In 1965, the then Lieutenant-Colonel Kotoka was transferred to Kumasi, where he met and became friends with then Major Akwasi Amankwa Afrifa, an officer in the Second Brigade of the Ghana army.
The two are generally credited with being among the key conspirators behind the first bloody coup d'état in Ghana on February 24, 1966, which brought an end to the First Republic. They codenamed it "Operation Cold Chop".
Source: Getty Images
It was Kotoka who announced the coup to the nation early that morning from the Broadcasting House of the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation, the official radio station in Ghana.
On 17 April 1967, there was an abortive coup attempt involving junior officers of the reconnaissance regiment located at Ho in the Volta Region, which led to the killing of Kotoka by Lt. Moses Yeboah after heavy fighting.
The Ghana International Airport was renamed Kotoka International Airport in his memory.
He was killed at a spot which is now part of the forecourt of the airport and his statue stood at that point.
Mahama pledges to reverse school renamings
YEN.com.gh reported that John Mahama pledged to undo the university name changes done by Akufo-Addo.
He said the new names do not reflect the core mandates of the universities and thus must be changed to realign them.
The Akufo-Addo administration had renamed several universities in an attempt to honour certain figures the administration believed were key to Ghana's democracy.
Some public universities that have undergone name changes include the Navrongo campus of the University of Professional Studies (UDS), which was renamed C.K. Tedam, and the Wa campus of the same university, which was named after S.D. Dombo.
Source: YEN.com.gh
