Samuel Nartey George, the lead sponsor for the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill, has asserted that President Akufo-Addo tried intercepting the passage of the bill few days to the day it was approved in Parliament.
Sam George says President Akufo-Addo, when he visited the House on February 26, 2024, met with the parliamentary leadership and implored them to abort the passage.
But according to him, because the House of Legislature is not a “rubber stamp”, they went ahead to pass the bill.
Sam George, who was speaking on the BigIssue on TV3’s NewDay Wednesday, November 20, 2024, indicated that the former Majority Leader, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, was removed as leader because he supported the passage of the bill.
He has accused the President of being a proponent of LGBT and therefore devising every means to avoid the signing of the bill to become law.
It is for this reason, according to Sam George, that the President has hired his people to drag the matter in court and hide behind that as an excuse not to assent to the bill.
“Part of the reasons why they took Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu out as Majority Leader was because Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu supported me to pass the bill. I’m telling you today, we are in Parliament, we know what is going on in Parliament.
“The President came to Parliament on the 26th of February, and I’m giving you dates, and when he came, he met leadership, he pleaded with them not to pass the bill. And two days later, we showed him that we are not a rubber stamp Parliament. We passed the bill.
“And because Kyei-Mensah was instrumental, Kyei stood on his feet for two days, 8 hours each day to help us pass that bill, they kicked him out,” the vociferous lawmaker alleged.
The anti-LGBTQ/Gay bill, formally known as the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill, sponsored by Sam George and other MPs, is a proposed law in Ghana that introduces wide-ranging restrictions on LGBT+ rights.
On February 28, 2024, Parliament approved the bill and is pending effect until it is assented to by the President. However, the bill is still in Parliament and has not been transferred to the presidency as a result of some suits challenging the legality. The Supreme Court, has, however, set Wednesday, December 18, 2024, to rule on the matter.
