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During Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo's tenure as President, he renamed some public universities, which led to a public uproarThe President John Mahama-led administration has decided to reverse the names of the renamed institutions to their initial namesThis was disclosed by the Majority Leader in Parliament, Mahama Ayariga, on the floor of Parliament when they resumed sitting Mahama Ayariga, the Majority Leader in Parliament, stated that the Cabinet has issued a directive to revert to the previous names of all public universities that were renamed during the erstwhile Akufo-Addo administration. The Majority Leader made this known when he spoke on the floor of Parliament on Tuesday, October 21, 2025. According to the Bawku Central MP, the bill to reverse the names will soon be brought to Parliament to formalise the change in names. “Mr Speaker, there has been a Cabinet directive to change the names of all the universities that were renamed after individuals back to the original names they were given." “A bill will be brought to this House to change and reverse all the name changes of the universities,” he added. When Akufo-Addo was President of Ghana, several public universities and polytechnics were renamed in honour of prominent national personalities. Among such institutions were the University of Mines and Technology (UMaT) in Tarkwa, renamed the George Grant University of Mines and Technology; Wa Campus of the University for Development Studies (UDS), renamed the Simon Dombo University of Business and Integrated Development Studies; Navrongo Campus of UDS, renamed the C.K. Tedam University of Technology and Applied Sciences; and Ho Technical University, renamed Ephraim Amu Technical University. The opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) at the time criticised the exercise and said the renaming was politically selective. The NDC promised to change the names of the universities back to their initial names when they assume power. From what Mahama Ayariga said, this is a promise they are determined to fulfil. NAPO promises to rename UPSA Meanwhile, YEN.com.gh reported that the New Patriotic Party (NPP) running mate in the 2024 election, Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh, pledged that if his party won the election, they would rename the University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA). He said their government would rename the university after its founder, Nana Opoku-Ampomah. He added that even though an initial attempt to rename the university after its founder had not been possible, they would do all within their power to do it in their next term in government. He said his government saw it as a matter of necessity to rename the university to reflect the great achievement of Nana Opoku-Ampomah. Government to rename University after late President Mills In an earlier publication, YEN.com.gh reported that the Education Minister announced the government's plans to rename the University of Health and Allied Sciences. The university, which is located in Ho, will be named after the late former President John Evans Atta Mills, under whose tenure the institution was established. The University of Health and Allied Sciences is the first public university to be established in the Volta Region. Source: YEN.com.gh
