All the NPP knows how to do is name universities that people have built - Mahama (VIDEO)
The flagbearer of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), John Dramani Mahama, has pledged to reverse the names bestowed upon certain public universities by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo if he secures re-election in the 2024 polls.
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During his tenure, President Akufo-Addo renamed several public universities. For instance, the University for Development Studies (UDS), Wa campus, was named after SD Dombo (Simon Diedong Dombo), a prominent politician from the United Party tradition. It is now known as the Simon Diedong Dombo University of Business and Integrated Development Studies (SDD-UBIDS) in the Upper West Region, and the C.K. Tedam University of Technology and Applied Sciences (CKT-UTAS) in the Upper East Region.
Additionally, in 2018, President Akufo-Addo renamed the University of Mines and Technology (UMaT) to the George Grant University of Mines and Technology.
Speaking to party supporters, chiefs, and students in Zuarungu, Upper East Region, Mr. Mahama criticized the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government for renaming universities established by the NDC government in honour of their heroes. He questioned why the NPP, which has not constructed any universities, continued to rename existing ones.
Mr. Mahama stressed the importance of aligning the names of public universities with their core missions. He advocated for renaming libraries, hostels, and administration blocks after individuals who have made significant contributions. According to him, Ghana boasts numerous heroes beyond those associated with the NPP tradition.
He said: “We are known as nation builders because of the number of schools we have built. Every public university was initiated and built by us. All the NPP knows how to do is name universities that people have built. After NDC builds a university, then they will give it the name of one of their heroes or people. We are going to rename the universities. Ghana has many heroes, and not only the heroes of the NPP tradition.
“We can name an administration block, hostel, and library after somebody. But the university must reflect its core mandate. And so we will restore the original names, and the names that they have given them will be given to significant infrastructure in the universities. And we will add other people and name the infrastructure in the universities after them. But if the university is the University for Development Studies, that is its core mandate. It will be called the University for Development Studies.”
