A key figure in the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko, has contested the prevailing view that Dr. Kwame Nkrumah was the sole founder of Ghana.

While he acknowledges Nkrumah's crucial role in the struggle for Ghana's independence, Mr. Otchere-Darko argues that this recognition does not attribute sole credit to Nkrumah for the country's liberation.

In an interview with Umaru Sanda Amadu on Face to Face on Channel One TV, Mr. Otchere-Darko emphasized that the movement for Ghana’s independence began before Nkrumah’s involvement.

He pointed out the significant contributions of J.B. Danquah, Paa Grant, and other members of the United Gold Coast Convention (UGCC).

He highlighted that Ghana's independence was the result of collective efforts rather than the work of a single individual.

“You can’t take it from Nkrumah, he knew how to charge, organise and mobilise people. But it does not make him the Founder. He was one of many. The struggles started even before the J.B. Danquahs, and Paa Grants, so I don’t know why we want to give him the credit as the founder.

He also mentioned that the name “Ghana” was proposed by others, not by Nkrumah himself.

“Even Nkrumah after all the work he did, what name did he settle on? Ghana, who proposed the name? It wasn’t him. It’s a tiring argument, I’m not interested in it,” the private legal practitioner asserted.

Mr. Otchere-Darko indicated that while some may believe Nkrumah was the sole founder of Ghana, he and others will continue to acknowledge Nkrumah’s significant role without attributing sole founding credit to him.

“If people want to believe that Nkrumah was the only person who founded Ghana, please let them believe it. And those of us who don’t believe so, and still will give Nkrumah his credit, his due, for being a mobiliser and a driver who agitated the minds, perhaps more than the others because of his populist stance.

“Because of his connectivity with the people, we give him that credit, but I will not say that Nkrumah founded Ghana,” Mr Otchere-Darko pointed out.

His comments follow President Akufo-Addo’s remarks on August 3, 2024, during the Founders' Day address, where the President also rejected the idea of a single founder of Ghana, which stirred some controversy among Ghanaians.