The Director of Communications of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Richard Ahiagbah, has accused President John Dramani Mahama of avoiding his commitment to sign the Proper Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill.

In a post shared on his X page on Wednesday, January 15, 2025, Ahiagbah called on the president to fulfill his campaign promise regarding the bill.

“H.E. John Mahama is running away from signing the LGBTQ+ Bill after promising to do so in its current form. Elections have consequences, and H.E. Mahama must not shift the goalpost. Sign the bill as you have pledged to Ghanaians,” he asserted.

President Mahama, speaking on Tuesday, January 14, 2025, during a visit from the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference, provided clarity on his position.

He explained that the initial Anti-LGBTQ+ Bill, introduced as a Private Members’ Bill during the Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo administration, had not reached his desk due to legal and procedural challenges.

He emphasised the need for a unified approach among stakeholders, advocating for dialogue to chart a mutually acceptable course.

“The Bill died with the 8th Parliament, but I think we need to have a conversation on that. But I think it should not be a Private Member’s Bill, but a government-sponsored one.

“If we were teaching our values in schools, we wouldn’t need to pass a bill to enforce our family values,” he explained.

He added that “And that is why I think more than even the family values bill, is us agreeing on a curriculum that inculcates these values into our children as they are growing up so that we don’t need to legislate it."

During the 2024 Election campaign, Mahama expressed a cautious stance, stating that his decision to assent to the bill would be based on a thorough review of its content.

“It is not an anti-LGBTQI Bill; it is a Family Values Bill. It was approved unanimously by our Parliament. [LGBTQI] is against our African culture, it is against our religious faith, but I think we must look at the Bill, and the president must indicate what he finds wrong with that bill and send it back to Parliament or alternatively he must send it to the Council of State and get the Council of State’s advice,” he said.

He added that had he been president when the bill was passed by Parliament on February 28, 2024, he would have sought a detailed examination of its provisions and consulted with relevant advisory bodies.

The bill, which passed in Parliament in 2024, proposes harsher penalties for consensual same-sex conduct and criminalizes individuals and organisations advocating for LGBTQ+ rights.


Read his post below:

H.E. John Mahama is running away from signing the LGBTQ+ Bill after promising to do so in its current form. Elections have consequences, and H.E. Mahama must not shift the goalpost. Sign the bill as you have pledged to Ghanaians...#Ghana @JDMahama @NJOAgyemang pic.twitter.com/wVWP0cpEOD

— Richard Ahiagbah (@RAahiagbah) January 15, 2025