Tamale South Member of Parliament, Haruna Iddrisu, has announced his intention to submit recommendations regarding the controversial anti-LGBTQ Bill to President John Mahama.Though he withheld specifics of his proposed suggestions, the legislator expressed confidence that his recommendations would align with national interests and help shape the bill appropriately.

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Speaking ahead of the National Muslim Prayer and Thanksgiving event at the National Mosque on Friday, January 10, 2025, Haruna Iddrisu said:“I have some ideas on the LGBTQ but I am yet to share them with the president as to how he can re-own the bill, get national consensus around it and be consistent with the laws of Ghana and the constitution.“There is a way to deal with it.

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Commenting here will mean that I am reducing it to a religious matter, but indeed it is a social problem of our country that collectively we have to deal with and solve,” he stated.The controversial Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill seeks to criminalize activities related to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and intersex (LGBTQI) advocacy.

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If passed, it would impose penalties on individuals promoting or funding LGBTQI-related activities, including indirect support.Proponents of the bill argue that it is essential to safeguard Ghanaian cultural and family values from foreign influences, while critics, including human rights groups, contend that the bill violates fundamental rights such as freedom of expression, association, and equality under the law.

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The bill faced legal challenges at the Supreme Court from journalist Richard Dela Sky and Dr. Amanda Odoi, who argued that it failed to meet constitutional quorum requirements under Articles 102 and 104 during its legislative process, rendering its passage unconstitutional.However, the Supreme Court dismissed the petitions, stating that the bill had not yet become law.

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Justice Lovelace Johnson emphasized that a bill must receive presidential assent before it can be subjected to constitutional review.Prior to being declared president, Mahama indicated that his decision to assent to the “Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill,” commonly known as the Anti-LGBTQI+ Bill, would depend on a thorough review to ensure its provisions do not violate the Constitution.

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In an interview with BBC Africa on Wednesday, December 4, Mahama clarified: “It is not an anti-LGBTQI Bill; it is a Family Values Bill. It was approved unanimously by our Parliament.

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[LGBTQI] is against our African culture, it is against our religious faith, but I think we must look at the Bill, and the president must indicate what he finds wrong with that bill and send it back to Parliament or alternatively he must send it to the Council of State and get the Council of State’s advice.”When asked if he would sign the bill into law if elected president, Mahama responded: “It depends on what is in the Bill.

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” He emphasized that if he had been president at the time the bill was passed, he would have ensured a detailed examination of its provisions and consulted relevant advisory bodies.“That is what I would have done,” he affirmed.

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Meanwhile, Member of Parliament for Ningo-Prampram, Sam Nartey George, has strongly stated that John Dramani Mahama, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Presidential Candidate, will have no choice but to sign the controversial anti-LGBTQI bill if he becomes president."That is a misconception that has been put out. I listened to that interview.

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President Mahama has been clear that he will sign that bill and he has no option than to sign that bill," Sam George said while speaking to the media.

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