The Member of Parliament (MP) for Ningo-Prampram, Sam Nartey George, has accused the leadership of the Majority Caucus of Parliament of using all manner of means to get the Promotion of Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill (anti-LGBTQI bill) which the house is currently considering to be dropped.
According to him, some of the leaders of the Majority Caucus (New Patriotic Party MPs) have started contacting the sponsors of the anti-LGBTQI bill, urging them to drop it.
The Ningo-Prampram legislator made these remarks at a press conference at parliament after the majority caucus blocked the bill from being taken during proceedings on Wednesday, December 7, 2023.
“We need to understand from the majority side, what their issues with the bill are. We need to understand those who take the chair when the speaker gives the instructions what their opposition to the bill is.
“We are very well aware of people in leadership on the majority side who are reaching out to the sponsors of the bill asking us to step down the bill,” he said.
He added that the Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee, Kwame Anyimadu Antwi, deliberately absented himself from proceedings on Wednesday so that his absence would be used as an excuse by the minority caucus for the bill not to be taken as directed by the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin.
“Is that why the majority side is fighting against the bill? The excuse given today that the chairman of the committee is not in the chamber so we can't take the amendment is alien to the practice of this house because the ranking member was present,” he said.
The parliament passed the anti-LGBTQI bill early this year, 2023 subject to some amendments.
The amendments are yet to be brought before the house for consideration the bill is to be approved by the house. After the bill is approved by the house, it would be assented to or not by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.
Watch Sam Georges remarks below:
We are aware of people in leadership on the majority side who are reaching out to us to step down the LGBTQI bill - @samgeorgegh, MP Ningo Prampram #GTVBreakfast pic.twitter.com/5yy9yTUBR8
— GTV Ghana (@GTV_Ghana) December 7, 2023
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