President Akufo-Addo’s referral to the lawsuit which was yet to be filed as his basis for not assenting to the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values bill recently passed by Parliament suggests he engineered that lawsuit to prevent him from signing.
National Chairman of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), Johnson Asiedu Nketia, who is making the assertion says it could not be a coincidence that the President cited a ‘non-existent’ case as his basis for not performing his constitutional duty.
Mr. Asiedu Nketia says the suit was part of the President’s plan not to sign the bill into becoming law.
“It is clearly an excuse and it’s a wrong excuse because he [President Akufo-Addo] was citing the court case even before anybody could file it. It tells you that he [President Akufo-Addo] orchestrated the filing.
“As at the time the President spoke, nobody had gone to court. If there’s an intention to file and the person has not filed, how do you restrain yourself over that? So, it means that you don’t want to do something but you want an excuse to cite not to do it. Because if you have heard that somebody is going to court, the person has not gone to court and yet you are injuncting yourself, then it means that you’re part of an orchestration to go to court in the first place,” he said on Accra-based JoyNews Wednesday, April 10, 2024.
Anti-Gay bill: Asiedu Nketia explains why Akufo-Addo is ‘refusing’ assent
General Mosquito, as he is popularly known in the political space, based on the President’s action, indicated that the journalist cum lawyer, Richard Dela Sky, who filed the suit is not independent minded and has been in bed with the NPP government since.
“I don’t trust in the independent-mindedness of whoever that filed the process. Who doesn’t know the Citi FM man, Richard Sky? Richard Sky works in the chamber of the Attorney-General, and he was sponsored to do his law course by this government. And the man has returned and he’s working with the Majority Leader. There’s circumstantial evidence and that’s my belief,” he poured out.
When the host drew his attention to the wild claims, the NDC Chair insisted that he was privy to those details about the plaintiff and had evidence to back them.
Parliament, on February 28, 2024, passed the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values bill also known as the Anti-LGBTQ+/Gay bill. But when the President was to receive and sign it into law, he said he was not going to do it until a lawsuit pending on the matter at the Supreme Court had been concluded. The matter, which was yet to filed in court at the time the President made his comments, according to many, smears suspicion.
The President, also through this Executive Secretary, Nana Bediatuo Asante, wrote to the Clerk of Parliament telling him not to present the bill to the presidency for the President’s assent. The Clerk in return, has written to Mr. Bediatuo, asking when he deems appropriate to present the bill to the seat of government.
