Clerk To Parliament Requests Appointment Date For The Submission Of Anti-LGBT Bill To Presidency
- Clerk to Parliament Cyril Nsiah has written to the Secretary of the President, Nana Bediuatuo Asante, seeking an appointment date to present the anti-LGBT bill to Akufo-Addo
- This is after the Presidency directed that the bill not be presented till the applications for injunction filed against it at the Supreme Court are resolved
- Earlier, an application for an expedited hearing of a suit compelling Akufo-Addo to receive the bill was approved by an Accra High Court
The Clerk to Parliament, Cyril Nsiah, has sought clarification from the Secretary to the President, Nana Bediatuo Asante, on when to transmit the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill, popularly known as the anti-LGBT bill.
This request follows a controversial letter issued by Nana Bediatuo Asante on March 18, 2024, urging Parliament to cease transmitting the controversial anti-LGBT bill to the Jubilee House until two challenges filed against it at the Supreme Court have been resolved.
Source: Twitter
However, in Cyril Nsiah’s April 10 letter to the Secretary of the President, he noted that he was mandated to transmit the bill in accordance with Article 106(7) of the 1992 constitution, hence his request for an appointment date.
“Accordingly, I await an indication in writing from your Office on when to present the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill, 2024 to His Excellency the President for his consideration, pursuant to Article 106(7) of the Constitution, 1992,” he said.
Akufo-Addo orders Parliament to desist
In the March 18 letter from the Presidency to Parliament, Nana Bediatuo Asante, on behalf of the president, directed that the anti-LGBT bill should not be presented to the Jubilee House until the suits filed against it at the Supreme Court are resolved.
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The bill faces two pending applications for an interlocutory injunction at the Supreme Court, seeking to restrain the president from receiving it and Parliament from transmitting it.
The applications also urge the court to declare the bill unconstitutional, null and void, and of no effect.
It was also revealed that the Attorney-General, Godfred Dame, had advised the president against taking any action regarding the bill until the issues were resolved by the Supreme Court.
According to the Presidency, the decision not to receive the bill is to uphold the integrity of the Supreme Court.
Parliament resists Akufo-Addo’s directive
The letter was received with so much ire from Parliament, particularly the Minority, who stated that the President sought to make the Parliament of Ghana an appendage to the executive.
The legislators averred that they would resist any overreach of executive powers spearheaded by the president and served notice of their intention to impeach him for acting unconstitutionally.
In retaliation, Parliament suspended the vetting and approval process for ministerial nominees, also citing an application for injunction filed by South Dayi MP Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor questioning the constitutionality of the president reassigning ministers to new portfolios without parliamentary approval.
Accra High Court approves expedited hearing of anti-LGBT case against Akufo-Addo
YEN.com.gh also reported that an Accra High Court has approved an application for an expedited hearing of a suit compelling Akufo-Addo to receive the anti-LGBT bill from Parliament.
The suit is seeking the court to, among other things, declare the president's directive to Parliament as unconstitutional.
It is also urging the court to direct Akufo-Addo to accept the bill and decide whether to assent to it.
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Source: YEN.com.gh
