Chairman of Parliament’s Constitutional and Legal Affairs Committee, Shaibu Mahama, has described as a blessing in disguise, former President Akufo-Addo’s decision not to assent to the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill, 2021, popularly known as the anti-LGBTQ Bill.
According to the Daboya Mankarigu MP, the development presents the 9th Parliament an opportunity to review the bill’s provisions and ensure that the rights of individuals are protected.
During his opening remarks at a stakeholder engagement on the anti-LGBTQ bill in Accra on Thursday, April 23, 2026, he noted that the House missed out on some clauses which would be addressed in the ongoing process.
“This Bill was introduced some time back and with the passage of time, many other things would have happened. Many events would have changed stuff and so, for us it’s a blessing in disguise,” he indicated.
The lawmaker explained that some sections of the earlier bill needed to be tweaked, and the former President’s refusal to assent the bill will grant them the opportunity to look into it.
“There were some clauses that we missed out in considering the last sitting of Parliament before the Parliament elapsed, we had the opportunity of incorporating, deleting, amending or reshaping the nature of the bill,” he stated.
He stressed that the rights of individuals who would be affected by the Bill needed to be protected, the reason the Committee is ensuring that no citizen’s right would be infringed upon.
“We take cognisance of the rights of individuals who may be affected by this and we are making the provisions in such a way that no individual, no Ghanaian’s right would be infringed on,” he added.
The Chairman also explained that the existing laws already shape some of the clauses, assuring the public that the new Bill being worked on would be “comprehensive”.
“We’ll also take note of existing legislation that has already taken care of some of the clauses that we’ll be looking out here. So this is going to be comprehensive,” he stated.
