Richard Sumah, Deputy General Secretary of the United Party, has renewed calls for Kotoka International Airport to be renamed Ghana International Airport, arguing that key national institutions should not be associated with political upheavals or controversial historical figures.

Speaking on GHOne Today on GHOne TV on Monday, December 22, Sumah said the naming of public institutions should transcend partisan politics and not be tied to any particular government or political era. He warned that politically linked names often fuel division and weaken national cohesion.

According to him, maintaining the name Kotoka at the country’s main international airport ignores the painful historical context surrounding the overthrow of Ghana’s first President, Dr Kwame Nkrumah. He described the 1966 coup as a significant setback to Ghana’s development.

“We all know the role Kotoka played. The overthrow of Kwame Nkrumah is one of the major reasons we have struggled to make the progress we should have made as a country,” Sumah stated, adding that such a legacy should not be associated with Ghana’s primary gateway to the world.

He appealed to Members of Parliament present on the programme to consider sponsoring a private member’s bill to facilitate the change, proposing the name Ghana International Airport as a neutral and unifying alternative.

Sumah stressed that adopting a simple, non-political name would better reflect Ghana’s national identity and help avoid recurring debates over the renaming of public institutions.