Reverend Father Clement Kwasi Adjei, the Secretary General of the Catholic Bishops Conference, has urged President Akufo-Addo to reconsider his decision not to assent to the recently passed Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill, popularly known as the anti-LGBTQ+ bill.

Speaking on JoyNews’ PM Express, the cleric argued that the presidency’s letter to Parliament, instructing them not to transmit the bill to the presidency, contravenes the established constitutional process wherein all laws enacted by Parliament must be forwarded to the presidency for consideration.

He reminded the president of his vow to uphold the constitution of the country.

Despite this, the presidency’s letter addressed to Parliament on Tuesday cited the acknowledgment of two pending applications for an order of interlocutory injunction before the Supreme Court as the basis for the decision.

Expressing dismay over recent events, Reverend Father Adjei called for a dialogue between religious bodies and the president to address the apparent deviation from constitutional norms.

“The constitution is the supreme law of Ghana and any law that is inconsistent with any provision in the constitution, for the sake of its inconsistency is null and void.

“So how can you write a letter telling parliament not to transmit the bill to the presidency? The constitution must be seen as the supreme law of the country. And in that constitution, any law enacted by parliament must be sent to the presidency,” he told host Aisha Ibrahim.

Tensions among MPs have escalated since Parliament received the letter from the presidency. Parliament suspended the consideration of the nomination of Ministers and Deputy Ministers of State by President Akufo-Addo, which appears to be a retaliatory move by the Speaker over the president's position on the controversial bill.

Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, stated that the legislature could not approve the President’s appointees due to an interlocutory injunction filed at the Supreme Court by MP for South Dayi, Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor.