Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin has strongly opposed the government’s plan to rename Kotoka International Airport, describing the move as unnecessary and insensitive.
His comments follow an announcement by Majority Leader Mahama Ayariga that the government intends to change the name of Ghana’s main international airport from Kotoka International Airport (KIA) to Accra International Airport. The announcement was made during a leadership media briefing ahead of the resumption of Parliament on Tuesday, February 3, 2026.
At the briefing, Mr Ayariga disclosed that the proposed name change would be carried out through legislation to be presented to Parliament by the Minister for Transport, Joseph Nikpe.
Reacting to the development in an interview with journalists, Mr Afenyo-Markin defended the existing name and criticised the decision to remove General Kotoka’s name from the airport.
“All these years, we’ve had General Kotoka’s name on the airport, and suddenly it’s being changed. The name Kotoka International Airport, Accra, is already there, so there is no need to remove Kotoka’s name,” he said.
The Minority Leader questioned the rationale behind the proposed change, arguing that the airport’s name represents one of the few national symbols associated with the Volta Region.
“How many prominent Voltarians have their names attached to national assets or monuments? This is one of the few recognitions of heroism from the Volta Region, and now they are being denied that,” he stated.
Mr Afenyo-Markin further noted that successive governments had maintained the name over the years and accused current leaders of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), particularly those from the Volta Region, of remaining silent on the issue.
He described the proposed renaming as an indictment of the NDC and urged key party figures from the Volta Region to speak out against it.
“Majority Chief Whip Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor, NDC General Secretary Fifi Kwetey, Foreign Affairs Minister Okudzeto Ablakwa, and First Deputy Speaker Bernard Ahiafor are all from the Volta Region. They are in government and are watching Volta lose its pride. It is up to them to act,” he said.
