Government Drops Plans for Bill to Remove Kotoka From Accra International Airport’s Name
The government has dropped plans to table a bill before Parliament to change the name of the Kotoka International Airport to Accra International Airport.
The Minister for Transport, Joseph Bukari Nikpe, has said the airport name change did not need legislation because the initial name change to the Kotoka International Airport had no legislative backing.
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Nikpe explained to the press that the renaming was done by executive decree to honour Emmanuel Kwasi Kotoka, one of the sodliers who overthrew Ghana's first President Kwame Nkrumah.
“If you look at the decree, its intention was to set a trust to take care of the families that were killed… There was no legislation in parliament to operationalise it.”
On February 23, the government of officially reverted the name of Kotoka International Airport to its original designation, Accra International Airport.
The Majority Leader in Parliament, Mahama Ayariga, earlier said the government planned to effect the name change using legilation.
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The proposed renaming of the airport followed 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.
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.
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".
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It was Kotoka who announced the coup to the nation early that morning from the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation.
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.
Source: YEN.com.gh
