The Member of Parliament for Sagnarigu, Atta Issah, has criticised the New Patriotic Party (NPP) over the ongoing national debate on the renaming of Kotoka International Airport, arguing that the party lacks the moral authority to lead such a conversation.

Speaking in an interview on JoyNews’ Newsfile on Saturday, the MP, who is also a member of the Ghana Airports Company Limited (GACL) Board said the NPP has itself presided over several controversial renaming exercises under the Akufo-Addo administration.

“In fact, the NPP should be the last political party to talk about renaming national monuments,” he stated.

His comments come amid renewed national discussion over proposals to rename Kotoka International Airport, with the Minority Leader recently suggesting the facility be renamed Accra International Airport due to the controversial legacy of General Emmanuel Kotoka.

Mr Issah recalled the controversy surrounding the renaming of the Tamale Airport, noting that despite the region’s rich traditional heritage, the NPP government ignored concerns raised by residents and leaders not to name it after Yakubu Tali.

He claimed calls to keep the name neutral as Tamale International Airport were rejected, and instead the government chose a partisan figure, Yakubu Tali, a subchief, which he described as inappropriate while a sitting Ya-Na remains in authority.

“An existing Ya-Na is sitting down and you will give an airport name to a subchief because he was a foundational member of your party,” he argued.

The MP also dismissed current arguments about the financial cost of renaming Kotoka International Airport, insisting similar concerns were absent when the NPP carried out renaming of public institutions in recent years.

“Now people are talking about cost. Can you quantify the cost of this renaming to the country? But nobody talked about cost at that time,” he said.

The member on Parliament’s Finance and Trade Committee cited multiple examples of institutions renamed under President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, including: The University of Mines and Technology (UMaT) in Tarkwa, renamed the George Grant University of Mines and Technology, the Wa Campus of the University for Development Studies (UDS), renamed the Simon Dombo University of Business and Integrated Development Studies, the Navrongo Campus of UDS, renamed the C.K. Tedam University of Technology and Applied Sciences, Ho Technical University, renamed the Ephraim Amu Technical University.

He questioned the basis for some of these decisions, particularly the renaming of the Wa campus after S.K. Dombo. “A university that Dombo contributed nothing was named… What was his contribution to UDS?” he asked.