Alexander Kwamena Afenyo-Markin, the Minority Leader, has opposed the government’s plan to rename the Kotoka International Airport, describing the move as an attempt to erase a key recognition of Volta Region heroism.

Reacting to the news in Parliament House, Accra, during an interview with journalists, Mr Afenyo-Markin questioned the rationale behind the change, saying, “All these years, we have had General Kotoka’s name on the airport, and suddenly, it is going to be changed? The name Kotoka International Airport, Accra, is already there, so you don’t need to remove Kotoka’s name,” he said.

He argued that the name represented one of the few national recognitions linked to the Volta Region, adding, “How many prominent Voltarians have their names on national assets or monuments? This is the only thing the people of Volta can also see as something that recognises heroism from the Volta region, and they are being denied.”

Mr Afenyo-Markin, also the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Member of Parliament (MP) for Effutu, urged National Democratic Congress (NDC) figures from the Volta Region, including Majority Chief Whip Mr Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor, Mr Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, the Foreign Affairs Minister, and Mr Bernard Ahiafor, the First Deputy Speaker of Parliament, to oppose the proposal.

He added that successive governments had retained the name and accused current NDC leaders from the Volta Region of remaining silent on the issue.

He described the move as an indictment of the NDC and urged key figures within the party, particularly those from the Volta Region, to oppose the proposal.

“Majority Chief Whip Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor, NDC General Secretary Fifi Kwetey, Foreign Affairs Minister Okudzeto Ablakwa, and First Deputy Speaker Bernard Ahiafor are from Volta; they are in government and are watching Volta lose its pride. It’s up to them,” he said.

Mr Manama Ayariga, the Majority Leader, on Tuesday announced that the government intended to change the name of Ghana’s international airport from Kotoka International Airport (KIA) to Accra International Airport.

The announcement was made during a Leaders’ Media Briefing, a periodic engagement between the leadership of the House and the Parliamentary Press Corps (PPC) at the beginning of every Meeting of Parliament to outline the framework of the Meeting.

It also serves as a platform of interaction between the leaders, the Media Relations Department of Parliament, and the PPC.

At the briefing, the Mr Ayariga disclosed that the proposed change would be affected through legislation to be laid before Parliament by the Minister for Transport, Joseph Nikpe.