A statesman, Dr. Nyaho Nyaho Tamakloe has fiercely resisted government’s proposal to change the name of the Kotoka International Airport to Accra International Airport.
The Transport Minister is expected to present a bill to Parliament for the renaming of the airport. The Majority Leader has also confirmed the decision during a press conference in Parliament.
Speaking on the matter on TV3’s Ghana Tonight, Wednesday, February 4, 2026, Dr. Nyaho Tamakloe explained that a renaming of the KIA would cost the country huge sums of money and is needless.
He questioned whether such a move should be a priority for government at the moment, insisting that there are more pressing challenges to be dealt with rather than renaming of airport.
“It is unfortunate that such a move should come from the present government.
“For them to bring this thing just a year after coming to power surprise me greatly. In the first place, is it important? Secondly, such thing like the change of names involves a lot of money and the nation has no money…There are more important issues to discuss,” he stated.
Dr. Nyaho Tamakloe called out the individual who suggested such an idea to the government.
“So, who brought in that idea? Who advised the government on this issue? If the person is still with government, then he should bow his head in shame,” he remarked.
Meanwhile, the Transport Minister Joseph Bukari Nikpe has defended the move.
He insisted that the move is part of a broader restructuring effort aimed at restoring the facility to its original name (Accra International Airport).
Addressing journalists during a working visit to the State Transport Corporation on Wednesday, February 4, 2026, the Minister maintained that the move to change the name to Accra International Airport has no political linen to it.
“This is one of the issues that the Ministry of Transport and for that matter government presented to Parliament as part of our activities for this period of recall. Renaming the Airport to Accra International Airport is of significance importance to Ghanaian people and for that matter the African personality.
“We are not doing this with any political thinking, this is coming from a very neutral point of view that Accra is our capital city, not anybody’s name. If we want to name other monuments or any other national facilities to people, this is the time that we are looking at restructuring them,” he stated.
But Dr. Nyaho Tamakloe says the Minister’s explanation does not suffice, noting that the taking off of the Kotoka name would not change history and his involvement in the 1966 coup.
“No one will deny the fact that Kotoka was a coup maker, no one will deny the fact that Afrifa was a coup maker, they didn’t put the name there themselves. It was a government that put the name there and it is just to remind the people of this country that we have passed through a certain stage in our history.
“Removing the name Kotoka from there would not in anyway erase what happened. So the explanation the Minister gave is so raw,” he said.
He called for an immediate withdrawal of the decision to rename the Kotoka International Airport.
“I believe strongly that those who came with this idea and were able to push it to government must immediately withdraw it and I must tell the President, John Mahama that he should be very careful with his advisors if he has one,” he emphasised.
