Member of Parliament for Tamale South Haruna Iddrisu has declared his plan to present President John Mahama with recommendations concerning the contentious anti-LGBTQ Bill.The legislator expressed confidence that his ideas would be in line with national interests and help shape the bill appropriately, albeit without disclosing specifics of what he would offer.

On Friday, January 10, 2025, Haruna Iddrisu spoke at the National Mosque ahead of the National Muslim Prayer and Thanksgiving event. She stated: "I have some ideas on the LGBTQ but I have not yet shared them with the president as to how he can re-own the bill, get national consensus around it, and be consistent with the laws of Ghana and the constitution."It can be handled in a certain way.

It is a national social issue that we must address and resolve as a nation, he said, adding that to comment here would imply that I am reducing it to a religious issue.Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and intersex (LGBTQI) advocacy is a potentially illegal activity, according to the contentious Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill.

If it were to pass, it would penalize anyone who funds or promotes LGBTQI-related activities, including indirect support.Critics, including human rights organizations, claim that the measure infringes upon fundamental rights including equality before the law, freedom of expression, and association, while supporters of the bill maintain that it is necessary to protect Ghanaian family and cultural values from outside influences.

In their Supreme Court challenges, Dr. Amanda Odoi and journalist Richard Dela Sky claimed that the bill's passing was illegal because it did not meet the constitutional quorum requirements under Articles 102 and 104 during its legislative process.The Supreme Court rejected the petitions, however, claiming that the bill was still pending.

Before a bill may be reviewed under the constitution, Justice Lovelace Johnson stressed that it must be signed into law by the president.Mahama stated before he was sworn in as president that his approval of the "Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill," sometimes referred to as the Anti-LGBTQI+ Bill, would be contingent upon a careful examination to make sure its provisions do not constitute constitutional violations.

On Wednesday, December 4, Mahama stated in an interview with BBC Africa: "It is a Family Values Bill, not an anti-LGBTQI Bill. It received unanimous approval from our Parliament.


[LGBTQI] goes against our African culture and our religious beliefs, but I believe we need to review the bill, and the president should either point out any issues and return it to Parliament or send it to the Council of State for their opinion.If elected president, Mahama will sign the bill into law, although he said, "It depends on what is in the Bill."

” He emphasized that if he had been president at the time the bill was passed, he would have ensured a detailed examination of its provisions and consulted relevant advisory bodies.“That is what I would have done,” he affirmed.

Meanwhile, Member of Parliament for Ningo-Prampram, Sam Nartey George, has strongly stated that John Dramani Mahama, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Presidential Candidate, will have no choice but to sign the controversial anti-LGBTQI bill if he becomes president."That is a misconception that has been put out. I listened to that interview.

President Mahama has been clear that he will sign that bill and he has no option than to sign that bill," Sam George said while speaking to the media.