Dr. Edward Omane Boamah, the Minister of Defence-designate, has explained that due to the good heart of President John Dramani Mahama, he chose to maintain the name of the presidency as “Jubilee House” instead of changing it back to “Flagstaff House.”
Responding to a question posed by the Minority Leader of Parliament, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, on Tuesday, January 28, 2025, during his appearance before the Appointments Committee, Dr. Boamah emphasized that such restraint demonstrates a focus on more pressing issues rather than engaging in symbolic controversies.
According to him, this decision reflects the President’s commitment to fostering national unity and continuity in governance.
“Mr. Chairman, it is only by the good nature of President Mahama that his administration has sustained the name as Jubilee House. Otherwise, by now, the name would have been changed to Flagstaff House again. We all knew the place as Flagstaff House, so if you are referring to the seat of the President as Jubilee House, that is understandable, but everybody knows this in the country. However, this is not an official document; this is social media,” he clarified.
In a report filed by graphic online.com in 2018, former President Nana Akufo-Addo, in 2018, renamed the seat of the presidency, the Flagstaff House, to Jubilee House.
The decision, which coincided with the President’s 74th birthday, was confirmed in a statement issued on Thursday, March 29, 2018, after pictures surfaced on social media showing the name being changed on the wall of the facility.
This was the second time in nine years that the name of the seat of government had been changed.
Former President John Agyekum Kufuor commissioned the Jubilee House in 2008 as the seat of government and the official residence of the President of Ghana. The project was funded with a $30 million loan from the Indian government.
The name of the edifice was reverted to Flagstaff House after the New Patriotic Party lost the presidential elections to the National Democratic Congress in 2008.
The then-President, John Evans Atta Mills, resisted calls to move into the Flagstaff House, choosing instead to carry out his duties from the Osu Castle after the NDC had said it would convert the facility into a poultry farm during their campaign.
However, his successor, John Dramani Mahama, operated from the Flagstaff House during his tenure.
Source: www.ghanaweb.com
