The Convention People’s Party (CPP) has mounted a strong defence of Ghana’s first President, Dr Kwame Nkrumah, insisting that national monuments and state institutions must only honour people deemed patriotic, not those linked to the overthrow of democratic governments.

Speaking on Joy News’ PM Express on Wednesday, CPP National Communication Director Osei Kofi Acquah said the debate over renaming Kotoka International Airport must be grounded in patriotism and Ghana’s democratic foundations.

“It is very, very sad to hear people who are supposed to be patriots, people who are supposed to be democrats speak this way,” he said.

Mr Acquah argued that the naming of streets, monuments and state institutions is not a casual political exercise but a national decision that should reflect sacrifice and loyalty to Ghana.

“State monuments and rewarding people by naming streets and state institutions after them is supposed to be done for people who are deemed patriotic,” he stated.

His comments come after Majority Leader Mahama Ayariga disclosed that government is considering renaming Kotoka International Airport as Accra International Airport.

The announcement signals a major shift involving one of Ghana’s most recognisable national landmarks. Mr Ayariga made the disclosure while speaking to journalists ahead of the first sitting of the Second Session of the 9th Parliament.

The proposal has reignited a long-running national debate over whether the airport should continue to bear the name of Lieutenant General Emmanuel Kwasi Kotoka, a key figure in the 1966 coup that toppled Nkrumah’s government.

For the CPP, the issue is not merely about branding or convenience. It is about who Ghana chooses to honour.

Mr Acquah said attempts by some to justify the coup or downplay its implications are an affront to democracy and national history.

“Let’s all be honest with ourselves,” he said.

He rejected any framing that suggests Nkrumah’s government lacked legitimacy, insisting that his administration emerged through democratic choice.

“The Kwame Nkrumah’s government did not come to power through the power of a gang,” he stressed.

“It was Ghanaians who decided that we want to start a nation by being democratic, by having a government that is for the people, by the people,” he added.

Mr Acquah said Nkrumah came to power through proper elections, which should settle any debate about the legitimacy of his leadership and the injustice of his overthrow.

“And so there was proper elections,” he said.

He accused the coup plotters of cowardice, claiming they pretended to show loyalty to Nkrumah even as they planned to remove him by force.

“A group of men who are so cowardly to the extent that when Kwame Nkrumah was leaving for Hanoi, the same people who did the coup d’etat were the ones who saw him off at Accra, then Accra International Airport,” he said.

Mr Acquah said the coup was executed after Nkrumah left the country.

“And when Osagyefo left, he took guns and arms and overthrew his government,” he added.