Paul Adom-Otchere, a renowned broadcaster, has boldly stated that Ghana’s first President, Dr Kwame Nkrumah, was a tyrant and terrible for Ghana.
The renowned broadcaster made these claims while commenting on the Kotoka International Airport name change debate as political score-settling.
Paul Adom-Otchere revisited Ghana’s history to justify why Kotoka was honoured, arguing that he played a heroic role at a time, he says, when Kwame Nkrumah had become a despot.
According to Paul Adom Otchere, Kotoka was a ‘rescuer’ for overthrowing Nkrumah’s despotism.
Paul Adom Otchere further claimed that plans to remove Lieutenant Kotoka’s name from the airport form part of a plan to restore Nkrumah’s image 100% before the 60th anniversary of his coup, which is on February 24, 2026.
Speaking on JoyNews’ NewsFile, Paul Adom-Otchere stated, “This Kotoka’s name on an important edifice like the airport is the remaining last leg of the nemesis of Nkrumah that must be taken away because they have been able to establish Nkrumah as the hero and the 100% hero since the BBC issue.
“Now, what we have been pointing out is that they started by arguing that Kotoka is a coup maker, and then that argument appears to be shifting. If you listen to Ambassador Kwesi Pratt, he was concerned that Mahama Ayariga (the Majority Leader) is turning this whole thing into a tribal matter… It’s not about a tribal matter. It is about removing the image of some coup maker,” he said.
He further highlighted that Ghanaians must know that the first president did some very bad things, which forced Kotoka to overthrow him.
Adom-Otchere added, “What we would like Ghanaians to see. And at the end of the day, the government will make its decision, and then we will have to decide whether it’s a political decision that we vote on the next time, or whatever we do.
“But we cannot ignore history. We have to make obeisance to history. The history is that from 1960 up to the time Nkrumah was overthrown in 1966, he was a despot. He was not good for Ghana. He was terrible for Ghana,” he said.
Paul Adom-Otchere’s remarks come on the heels of the brouhaha surrounding the Majority Leader, Mahama Ayariga, who has announced plans to rename Ghana’s international airport from Kotoka International Airport (KIA) to Accra International Airport.
According to the majority leader, the change would be effected through legislation to be laid before Parliament by the Minister for Transport.
Speaking during a leadership media briefing ahead of the resumption of the Ninth Parliament on Tuesday, February 3, 2026, Mahama Ayariga detailed, “We are changing the name of our airport from Kotoka International Airport to Accra International Airport. A bill will be brought by the Minister for Transport for the name to be changed”.
“The Minister for Transport will bring the Maritime Offences Bill and the Road Traffic Bill to deal with the legalisation of okada riding and their operations. He will also bring the Ghana Shippers Council Regulation Bill,” the Majority Leader said.
Meanwhile, Joseph Bukari Nikpe, the Minister of Transport, has defended the government’s decision to rename the Kotoka International Airport.
The Transport Minister highlighted that the Mahama government’s decision is not politically motivated, arguing that renaming the airport is of significant importance to the Ghanaian people.
He explained that the government decision to just restore the airport’s original name, Accra International Airport, given by Ghana’s first presiednt Dr Kwame Nkrumah.
Watch the video below:
Describing the airport name change debate as political score-settling, Paul Adom-Otchere revisits Ghana’s history to justify why Kotoka was honoured, arguing that he played a heroic role at a time he says Kwame Nkrumah had become a despot.
— Joy 99.7 FM (@Joy997FM) February 7, 2026
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