{"id":16981,"date":"2026-06-03T06:58:39","date_gmt":"2026-06-03T06:58:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fishfmonline.com\/?p=16981"},"modified":"2026-06-03T06:58:39","modified_gmt":"2026-06-03T06:58:39","slug":"sheikh-shaibu-warns-ndc-npp-dont-turn-anti-lgbtq-bill-into-political-football","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fishfmonline.com\/?p=16981","title":{"rendered":"Sheikh Shaibu warns NDC, NPP: Don\u2019t turn anti-LGBTQ+ bill into political football"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"ds-virtual-list-items _6f2c522\">\n<div class=\"ds-virtual-list-visible-items\">\n<div class=\"_4f9bf79 d7dc56a8 _43c05b5\" data-virtual-list-item-key=\"6\">\n<div class=\"ds-message _63c77b1\">\n<div class=\"ds-markdown ds-assistant-message-main-content\">\n<p class=\"ds-markdown-paragraph\"><span class=\"\">The spokesperson for the National Chief Imam, Sheikh Aremeyaw Shaibu, has urged political actors not to turn the controversial anti-LGBTQ+ bill into a partisan issue between the ruling NDC and the opposition NPP.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"ds-markdown-paragraph\"><span class=\"\">Speaking on Joy News\u2019\u00a0<\/span><em><span class=\"\">PM Express<\/span><\/em><span class=\"\">\u00a0on Tuesday, the Islamic scholar expressed disappointment over renewed political disagreements surrounding the bill. He stressed that Ghana had already reached a broad national consensus on the matter.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"ds-markdown-paragraph\"><span class=\"\">His comments follow fresh debate over the bill\u2019s future after former President John Mahama\u2019s recent remarks at Chatham House in London, where he stated that proper constitutional and legislative processes must be followed before any bill reaches the president for assent.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"ds-markdown-paragraph\"><span class=\"\">The debate was also reignited by Speaker of Parliament Alban Bagbin, who suggested that both sides of the House may need to review the legislation before it advances further.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"ds-markdown-paragraph\"><span class=\"\">Sheikh Shaibu argued that the issue had already undergone extensive national discussion and should not be reopened for political contestation. He noted that both political parties, religious bodies, and other stakeholders had clearly stated their positions, and that the bill had been debated in Parliament under both the previous and current administrations.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"ds-markdown-paragraph\"><span class=\"\">According to him, the bill had already passed through Parliament and only needed the former president\u2019s assent, but procedural and legal issues prevented it from reaching his desk. He had expected the current process to be straightforward\u2014simply to expedite the bill\u2019s passage and get it to President Mahama, in line with earlier commitments.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"ds-markdown-paragraph\"><span class=\"\">Sheikh Shaibu expressed concern over growing political divisions on a matter he believes transcends party interests, calling the situation disappointing. He urged that the issue not be politicized, describing it as fundamentally non-political.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"ds-markdown-paragraph\"><span class=\"\">He maintained that opposition to LGBTQ+ practices is deeply rooted in Ghanaian culture and religious values, reflecting a shared national stance. He described LGBTQ+ acts as an attack on the family institution, which he called the basic unit of society, and argued that any attempt to promote such acts undermines society\u2019s foundation.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"ds-markdown-paragraph\"><span class=\"\">He concluded that as a people of culture, faith, and religion, Ghanaians are united in recognizing the harm of this issue, and turning it into a political debate between the majority and minority is, to say the least, very disappointing.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ds-flex _0a3d93b\">\n<div class=\"ds-flex _965abe9 _54866f7\"><\/div>\n<div>Disclaimer: The content provided on Fish FM Online is for informational and entertainment purposes only. While we strive for accuracy, we do not guarantee the completeness, reliability, or timeliness of the information presented. Fish FM Online and its affiliates are not responsible for any errors or omissions, nor for any decisions made based on the content available on our platform.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The spokesperson for the National Chief Imam, Sheikh Aremeyaw Shaibu, has urged political actors not to turn the controversial anti-LGBTQ+ bill into a partisan issue between the ruling NDC and the opposition NPP. Speaking on Joy News\u2019\u00a0PM Express\u00a0on Tuesday, the Islamic scholar expressed disappointment over renewed political disagreements surrounding the bill. He stressed that Ghana [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":123457,"featured_media":16982,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[41],"tags":[1176,5351],"class_list":["post-16981","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general-news","tag-anti-lgbtq-bill-2","tag-sheikh-shaibu"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fishfmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16981","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fishfmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fishfmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fishfmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/123457"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fishfmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=16981"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.fishfmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16981\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16983,"href":"https:\/\/www.fishfmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16981\/revisions\/16983"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fishfmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/16982"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fishfmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=16981"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fishfmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=16981"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fishfmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=16981"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}