Son of Ghana's first President, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, Dr. Sekou Nkrumah, has expressed enthusiasm about the pledge made by NDC flagbearer John Mahama to restore July 1 as Republic Day if he is elected.

In an interview on Joy News’ PM Express, Dr. Sekou Nkrumah highlighted the historical importance of July 1, noting, “I am pleased that John Mahama plans to reinstate it when he returns to power.”

Ghana originally became a Republic on July 1, 1960, and this date was celebrated each year until the current Akufo-Addo administration designated it as a commemorative day.

The government replaced July 1 with August 4 as Founders’ Day, a statutory holiday to honor Ghana’s founders.

During his visit to the Upper East Region, former President Mahama criticized President Akufo-Addo for changing the holiday, accusing the administration of trying to “rewrite history.”

Mr Mahama stated, “Apart from destroying the economy, one of the things this government wants to do is to rewrite our history, and we shall not allow them to rewrite our history because the president said he does not accept that one person can be the founder of our nation.”

“Nobody can come and rewrite our history. Indeed, for those of you who don’t know, when the Queen finally agreed to give Ghana independence, the UGCC Nana Akufo-Addo is fighting to be recognised as the founders of Ghana wrote a petition.

They sent people to England to tell the queen not to grant independence because we are not ready yet.”

This statement follows President Akufo-Addo's remarks on August 3, where he reignited the debate by rejecting the idea that Ghana's founding can be attributed to just one person during a national broadcast.

Dr. Sekou Nkrumah has voiced his concerns about the ongoing political disputes over important historical dates in Ghana, advocating for a resolution grounded in a precise understanding of history.

“We should rise above that,” he said.

He added, “We can resolve this by going back and understanding our history well without trying to manipulate it.

If Kwame Nkrumah led us to independence and became our first head of state and president, let’s give him the symbol of being the founder.

It is not for Nkrumah as a person; he died long ago, but it is a question of him representing us as Ghanaians.”

He also noted that recognizing Dr Kwame Nkrumah’s birthday, September 21, as Founder’s Day, as instituted by the late President J.E.A. Mills, is a meaningful symbol of Ghana’s independence and self-determination.