‘Lawsuit against anti-gay bill NPP-sponsored, excuse for Akufo-Addo not to sign’ — Sammy Gyamfi

Sammy Gyamfi, the National Communications Officer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) has alleged that the lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of Ghana's controversial anti-LGBTQ+ bill is sponsored by the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP).

He questioned how President Akufo-Addo could refer to the suit in a speech on March 4, when it was only filed at the Supreme Court on March 5.

President Nana Akufo-Addo suspended the signing of Ghana's controversial anti-LGBTQ bill, citing a pending Supreme Court challenge to the bill's constitutionality.

However, according to the NDC spokesperson, the President lied to the nation and the international community in his reaction to the bill which is currently awaiting his signature.

“This begs the question as to how President Akufo-Addo could refer to the suit in his speech yesterday, when same was filed only today.

"Why did the President lie to the nation and international community yesterday, that a suit had been filed in the Supreme Court challenging the constitutionality of the Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill, when he knew that to be false?" he asked.

He further alleged that the "legal action is nothing but an NPP-sponsored suit, calculated to serve as a convenient excuse for the President to refuse to assent the Bill on Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values."

He accused the NPP of "pretend[ing] to support the anti-LGBTQI Bill in the open, only to stab the Christian community, Muslim community, Traditional authorities and Ghanaians at large, in the back."

The accusation comes after Accra-based journalist Richard Dela Sky filed a lawsuit, challenging the Bill.