Sam George questions Akufo-Addo's intentions for delaying assent to anti-LGBTQ+ bill

Sam Nartey George, one of the sponsors of the anti-LGBTQ+ bill, has cast doubt on President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo's reasons for not promptly assenting to the controversial legislation, suggesting that the President is using a pending legal challenge as a pretext.

In an interview on JoyFM's Top Story on March 5, Sam George argued that,

Read full articlebased on previous instances like the Electronic Transaction Levy, where the President assented despite a pending lawsuit, Akufo-Addo's insistence on waiting for a court ruling regarding the anti-LGBTQ+ bill implies a lack of initial support.

Sam George emphasised that the nation widely supports the anti-LGBTQ+ bill, and if the President had assented despite the ongoing court action, he would have garnered praise. He accused the President of attempting to find an excuse to avoid signing the bill and questioned his principles.

"The President is being the puppet master here with a few other players in here. The President is trying to find an excuse not to sign, but again you want to find out if the President is being principled or not," Sam George stated.

Drawing comparisons with other cases, such as the e-levy and the situation involving former Auditor-General Domelevo, Sam George questioned why the President chose to wait for the Supreme Court's ruling on the anti-LGBTQ+ bill, despite the Court's precedent of accepting documents before the end of the week.

He revealed that his next move, along with other co-sponsors, would be to bring the bill back to Parliament if the President indicates he will not assent, intending to subject it to a 2/3rd majority vote.

"We would put this to the test. I cannot speak with authority on this. This is my personal opinion on the matter. Bear in mind that I am not the only sponsor of the bill. There are eight of us, and we have a coalition we have worked with. We are going to take a stance on this, but my personal position and default position will be that we will bring it back to Parliament if the President indicates that he will not sign after the seven-day period," Sam George asserted.