No records of Mills renaming seat of presidency; Akufo-Addo orders for 'Jubilee House'

An executive order by the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has stated among other reasons that “there is no record evidencing the renaming of the seat of the Presidency as Flagstaff House by His Excellency Professor John Evans Atta Mills”.

The executive order dated March 29, 2018, instructed for the seat of presidency to henceforth be “named, known and referred to as Jubilee House”.

The order occasioned the replacement of the signage at the seat of the presidency on Thursday morning, March 29.

This comes to replace “Flagstaff House”, the name the seat of the presidency has been referred to for the past 9 years.

Highlighting the history of the seat of the presidency, now known as Jubilee House, the order stated,

“In recognition and celebration of Ghana, Golden Jubilee anniversary in 2007, a Presidential Palace was built to serve as the seat of the Presidency by His Excellency John Agyekum Kufuor, the 2nd President of the 4th Republic, and its official name designated by Him as Jubilee House”

It emphasized that Jubilee House remains the first post-independence presidential palace to serve as the seat of the Presidency of Ghana and maintained that the Flagstaff House will remain a monument within the Jubilee house for historical purposes.

“WHEREAS, for historical and tourism purposes, Flagstaff House, which is situated on the premises of Jubilee House, should be preserved and commemorated as the residence of the 1st President of Ghana”, it stated.

Background

The seat of the presidency has been in contention ever since it was built in 2007 under then-President John Agyekum Kufuor-led NPP government which first named it Jubilee House. The NDC on assuming office in 2008 under the leadership of the late Evans Atta Mills changed it to Flagstaff House. It has since been referred to as the Flagstaff House until Thursday, March 29, when an executive order by the president Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo occasioned the change of the name back to Jubilee House.