The ongoing national debate over renaming the Kotoka International Airport (KIA) took a significant turn today as a key official involved in the process clarified the board's position.

Atta Issah, a board member of the Ghana Airport Company Limited (GACL), stated that the board has formally agreed only to the name "Accra International Airport," distancing the decision from proposals to name it after former President Kwame Nkrumah.

The Sagnerigu MP made these remarks on Joy FM's Newsfile on Saturday.

When pressed by the host on why the focus wasn't on naming the airport after Ghana's first president, as suggested by some Majority MPs, Issah was direct: "No, it is the Accra International Airport that we currently have."

"Even at the board level, there's nothing like a Nkrumah International Airport."

• Read also: Plan to rename KIA is about settling long-standing political score – Paul Adom Otchere

He emphasised that the board's agreement is centered on restoring the airport's original, non-partisan identity to avoid future political meddling.

"We haven't personalized the infrastructure because you give opportunity for future governments to come and meddle with this type of conversation we are having right now," Mr Issah explained.

He framed the renaming not as an erasure of history, but as a correction to it.

He provided a detailed historical rationale, arguing that the airport was conceived and built with a specific, forward-looking purpose by Kwame Nkrumah.

"Somebody thought there was a need for the country to have an international airport that would liberate us from mental slavery at the time," Issah stated.

"He thought of opening borders among African countries to increase trade and liberalize our economies... The person who built it hasn't used or didn't use his name to name after the project."

According to Issah, the core argument is that the infrastructure was originally named for its location and purpose, "Accra International Airport", at its commissioning, and the current move seeks to restore that original intent.

The board member's comments served as a partial response to the heated criticism that has dominated the debate.

Political commentator Paul Adom Otchere accused the government of using the renaming to "settle political scores" and sanctify Nkrumah's legacy.

Mr Issah acknowledged that the "reasoning behind the change is what people are not comfortable with." He suggested that critics like Otchere were not necessarily against a name change but were demanding clearer justification from the government.

"All these talks that Paul has done has not really questioned the need to have a name change but he is suggesting further information that the government needs to provide," Mr Issah observed.