Five of Ghana's Big Six independence leaders have been left off the Bank of Ghana's new Heritage Series banknotes, with only Dr Kwame Nkrumah keeping a place, Citi Newsroom and 3News report.
GBC also reported that the notes, unveiled by President John Dramani Mahama on Thursday, November 12, come without the familiar Big Six.
Who is missing
The Big Six were Dr Nkrumah, Dr Joseph Boakye Danquah, Ebenezer Ako-Adjei, Edward Akufo-Addo, Emmanuel Obetsebi-Lamptey and William Ofori Atta. Their collective portrait appears on the front of the existing cedi notes.
They rose to prominence after their arrest by the British colonial authorities in 1948 following disturbances in Accra, Citi Newsroom and 3News note.
In the new series, Dr Nkrumah appears on the GH¢200 note as Ghana's first President. The other five are not on any denomination.
Who is on the new notes
According to Citi Newsroom and 3News, the GH¢1 note carries Agnes Oforiwa Tagoe-Quarcoopome, said to be the first Makola woman to open a bank account with the then Standard Bank of West Africa. Cardinal Peter Porekuu Dery is on the GH¢2, educationist James Emmanuel Kwegyir-Aggrey on the GH¢5 and Justice Annie Jiagge on the GH¢10.
Dr Ephraim Amu, composer of the Twi version of the national anthem, is on the GH¢20, flag designer Theodosia Salome Okoh on the GH¢50 and former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan on the GH¢100.
Citi Newsroom says the series adopts an individual-portrait approach. 3News says the exclusion has generated public debate.
No explanation yet
Pulse Ghana reports that the Bank of Ghana has not publicly explained the absence of the other five. Governor Dr Johnson Pandit Asiama's launch remarks, published by the Bank, say the series features "national heroes, historic sites, monuments, and Adinkra symbols" but do not mention the Big Six.
Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin said the government was "in haste to erase the Big Six from our currency and our history", Citi Newsroom reported.
The GH¢50 note is also at the centre of a separate dispute over whose face appears on it. Read our report on the GH¢50 portrait row.
The new notes enter circulation on December 1, and existing notes remain legal tender.