Anti-LGBT+ Bill - Asiedu Nketiah gives possible reason Akufo-Addo has delayed assent

Johnson Asiedu Nketiah, the National Chairman of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), has criticized President Nana Akufo-Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo for what he perceives as a lack of transparency regarding his stance on the Anti-LGBTQ+ Bill.

President Akufo-Addo has suspended his decision on whether or not to sign the Bill into law, citing a challenge to its constitutionality in the Supreme Court.

Nketiah, who is popularly known as General Mosquito, has however asserted that President Akufo-Addo's reluctance to openly address the bill reflects an attempt to avoid taking a clear position.

He suggested that the president might be aiming to shift responsibility onto the judiciary or other parties, allowing him to disassociate himself from any potential backlash.

"The truth is that he doesn’t have the courage to say his position on the bill. That is why he wants to shift that responsibility to the judiciary or another person so he can later go and stand somewhere to say that he didn’t sign the bill.

“If he wanted to do something about the bill, he would have done it.

"He doesn’t want people to know that he is not in support of the Anti-LGBT+ Bill that is why there are some hurdles. That is the truth. If he had been able to stand his ground to say that he was not in support of the bill, his MPs would have also stood their ground to say that they were not in support," citinewsroom.com quoted him to have said in an interview on Asempa FM on March 27, 2024.

He further noted that while MPs agree with the bill within the confines of parliament, their actions outside of it suggest a different stance.

Nketiah suggested that this apparent inconsistency reflects both the president's unwillingness to take a definitive stance and a lack of alignment within his party.

The Anti-LGBT+ Bill, as passed by Parliament, proscribes LGBT activities and criminalizes their promotion, advocacy, and funding.

Persons caught in these acts would be subjected to six months to a three-year jail term, with promoters and sponsors bearing a three to five-year jail term.

Even if he decides against it, MPs can, by a two-thirds majority, veto the president's decision and make the provisions of the Bill enforceable.

AM/SARA

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