Dafeamekpor shares evidence explaining why Akufo-Addo did not sign anti-gay bill

The Majority Chief Whip, Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor, has shared a letter which he says explains why former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo did not assent to the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill, popularly known as the anti-gay bill, while in office.

In a post on his X account on May 30, 2026, Dafeamekpor published a letter dated March 18, 2024, in which the former Executive Secretary to the President, Nana Asante Bediatuo, advised the then-President not to assent to the bill due to pending legal challenges before the Supreme Court.

According to the letter, two applications for interlocutory injunctions had been filed at the Supreme Court by Dr Amanda Odoi and Richard Dela Sky, seeking to restrain Parliament from transmitting the bill to the President and to prevent the President from assenting to it until the court had determined the matters.

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"This Office is aware of two pending applications for an order of interlocutory injunction, both filed on March 7, 2024, in the Supreme Court: Dr Amanda Odoi v. The Speaker of Parliament and The Attorney-General (31/13/2023) and Richard Sky v. The Parliament of Ghana and The Attorney-General (J1/9/2024), respectively, to restrain you and Parliament from transmitting the Bill to the President and, also, to restrain the President from signifying his assent to the Bill, pending the final determination of the matter.

"The Attorney-General has, by letter dated March 18, 2024, informed the President that he has been duly served with both applications and has advised the President not to take any step in relation to the Bill until the matters raised by the suits are determined by the Supreme Court," portions of the letter stated.

In his post, Dafeamekpor blamed Nana Asante Bediatuo for preventing the then-President from assenting to the bill, citing the legal challenges before the apex court.

He described the letter as "unimpeachable evidence" of what he called efforts by the previous administration to prevent the bill from becoming law.

"This is the unimpeachable evidence that the original Anti-LGBTQ+ law was prevented from being presented to the President by his Executive Secretary, Nana Bediatuo Asante. Fact!" Dafeamekpor wrote on X.

Meanwhile, Parliament on Friday, May 29, 2026, passed the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill for the second time.

The bill was first passed in 2024 but did not receive presidential assent before the expiration of the Eighth Parliament and the end of former President Akufo-Addo's tenure.

The legislation now awaits the assent of President John Dramani Mahama before it can become law.

If assented to, the bill would criminalise homosexual activities and provide sanctions for related offences under Ghanaian law.

Read the post below

This is the unimpeachable evidence that the original Anti-LGBTQ+ law was prevented from being presented to the President by his Executive Secretary, Nana Bediatuo Asante. Fact!!!! pic.twitter.com/WYXWhhIwmc

— Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor, Esq. MP. (@etsedafeamekpor) May 29, 2026