Minister for Transport Joseph Bukari Nikpe has justified government plans to rename Kotoka International Airport as Accra International Airport, insisting that the move is not politically motivated.
He explained that the airport originally served as an air force base during the Second World War, used for transporting soldiers and weapons, before it was converted into a civilian airport under the Kwame Nkrumah administration and named the Accra International Airport.
Speaking during a tour of the State Transport Company, the minister said the proposed bill is aimed, among other things, at promoting the location identity of Ghana’s capital city.
“Parliament will be expected to pass a lot of bills, and as part of the government’s agenda, we have a lot of bills from the Ministry of Transport, and one of them is the renaming of the Kotoka International Airport to its original name.
“Renaming the airport to Accra International Airport is of significant importance to the Ghanaian people and, for that matter, the African personality. We are not doing this with any political thinking. We are doing this to come from a very neutral point of view.”
