A leading advocate of the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill is calling on President John Dramani Mahama to issue a direct order to Parliament for the swift passage of the bill. Rev. Ntim Fordjour argues that the President has already shown he can intervene in parliamentary proceedings, as seen when he recently halted a move to remove the Special Prosecutor.
Speaking on Joy FM’s Top Story, Fordjour stated that if President Mahama truly considers the anti-LGBTQ+ bill a priority, he should issue a directive to parliamentary leadership to fast-track it with urgency.
“President Mahama can also issue a directive that this is a bill that is a priority indeed, if it is. So they should expedite it immediately and with urgency, pass it,” he said.
Fordjour was referring to an incident where Majority Leader Dafia Mekporn and Chief Whip Mahama Yaga introduced a private member’s bill seeking the removal of the Special Prosecutor. After President Mahama ordered the withdrawal of that process, Members of Parliament complied within hours.
Fordjour believes the same executive urgency should apply to the anti-LGBTQ+ bill, which he insists requires no further revisions. “That was an old bill. We haven’t changed anything in it,” he said, adding that Parliament has already expedited 33 bills since January 2025, some of which were passed on the very day they were introduced.
His remarks follow President Mahama’s statement on March 30 to civil society organizations, in which he described the bill as important but not among the government’s immediate priorities. That position was later reinforced by government spokesperson Kachupusu, who confirmed that the bill is “not a priority for the administration.”
