NDC Communicator confident President Mahama will sign Anti-LGBTQ+ bill
Godfred Apolala dismisses opposition criticism, says bill reflects Ghanaian values and has passed due parliamentary scrutiny.
A member of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Communications Team for the Navrongo Central Constituency, Godfred Apolala, has defended the passage of the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill and expressed confidence that President John Dramani Mahama will assent to it when it is presented to him.
Speaking on the Big Mike Breakfast Show on Mike FM on Monday, June 1, Apolala rejected claims that the NDC was responsible for introducing exemptions into the bill.
He stressed that the legislation remains a private member’s bill that was thoroughly scrutinized and approved by Parliament.
According to him, lawmakers from both the NDC and the New Patriotic Party (NPP) participated in the consideration of the bill, which was subsequently passed through the required constitutional processes before being forwarded to the President for assent.
Apolala maintained that the bill reflects the moral, cultural, and family values of the Ghanaian people and is intended to safeguard those values for future generations.
“We told the good people of Ghana that when we come, we will pass this bill and sign it,” he stated.
Addressing concerns over exemptions granted to certain professional groups, Apolala argued that journalists, lawyers, medical practitioners, researchers, and academics require such protections to perform their duties without fear of prosecution.
He emphasized that healthcare professionals, in particular, must be allowed to provide medical care to all individuals regardless of the nature of their circumstances.
“If I am a medical doctor, I am supposed to give help and priority to everyone. So if you come with an issue, because it is a case of that nature, I should send you away? No,” he said.
Apolala further dismissed allegations that the NDC manipulated the bill for political gain.
He accused members of the opposition of attempting to justify former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s decision not to assent to the earlier version of the legislation.
Mike 105.3FM I Navrongo | Elizabeth Apusaama
