Chief Executive Officer of the Centre for Religion and Public Life (CRPL-Ghana), Rev. Canon Dr. Confidence Bansah, has described calls to rename Kotoka International Airport over its association with a coup leader as hypocritical, arguing that the same political actors championing the move belong to a party founded by a former coup leader.
According to him, it is contradictory to demand the removal of General Emmanuel Kwasi Kotoka’s name from Ghana’s main international airport while operating under a party established by Jerry John Rawlings, who led two military coups.
Rev. Canon Dr. Bansah was reacting to comments by the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, who endorsed the renaming of the airport in a Facebook post on Tuesday, February 3, 2026.
“This is a welcome and long-overdue step. It is time we reclaim our national symbols to reflect our values and heritage,” the minister posted.
“We cannot continue to name our premier international gateway, a symbol of national pride and our first welcome to the world, after a figure associated with the violent and unconstitutional overthrow of our nation’s founder, Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah,” he added.
However, in a post on X (formerly Twitter) on February 4, 2026, Rev. Canon Dr. Bansah questioned the basis of the argument.
“We cannot name our airport after a coup figure, but we belong to a party formed by a coup figure. What Hypocrisy? Needless effort,” he wrote.
The statement was a reference to the National Democratic Congress (NDC), which was founded in 1992 by Jerry John Rawlings, a former military officer who led two successful coups, one in 1979 and the other in 1981.
The NDC, who is currently in government under the leadership of President John Dramani Mahama, has several party figures openly supporting the renaming of the airport.
On February 3, Majority Leader Mahama Ayariga revealed that government intends to present a bill to Parliament to rename Kotoka International Airport as Accra International Airport, arguing that the change would better reflect Ghana’s democratic values.
Kotoka International Airport is named after Colonel Emmanuel Kwasi Kotoka, who led Ghana’s first successful military coup on February 24, 1966, together with Major Akwasi Afrifa, which overthrew the government of Dr. Kwame Nkrumah while he was on a peace mission in Hanoi, Vietnam.
