Concerned NPP Youth in Ashanti Region Urge Civil Society, Religious Leaders to Pressure Mahama to Pass Anti-LGBTQ Bill
A group calling itself the Concerned Youth of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the Ashanti Region has appealed to civil society organizations, non-governmental organizations, as well as Christian and Muslim leaders across the country to engage President John Dramani Mahama to assent to the Anti-LGBTQ Bill.
Addressing the media in Kumasi, the leader of the group, Dr. Keskin Owusu Ansah, said the appeal has become necessary following what he described as the president’s recent comments in passing the bill despite campaign assurances made ahead of the 2024 general elections.
According to him, former President Mahama publicly pledged during the 2024 campaign that he would assent to the bill if it was presented to him. However, he claimed that after fifteen months in office, the President has failed to fulfill that promise.
Dr. Ansah further alleged that several members of the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC) also assured Ghanaians that the Anti-LGBTQ Bill would be passed once the party assumed power.
He stated emphatically that the actions of the government suggest a lack of commitment toward the passage of the bill, urging citizens to demand accountability from the leadership.
The group also argued that the NDC currently holds what it described as an overwhelming parliamentary majority capable of passing the bill without support from the opposition NPP.
Dr. Ansah added that claims made during the 2024 campaign that former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo refused to sign the bill have now been contradicted, insisting that the legislation never reached the former president for assent.
The Concerned NPP Youth therefore called on religious bodies and civil society groups to renew public engagement and advocacy efforts to push for the passage of the Anti-LGBTQ Bill.