Sam George, a co-sponsor of the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill, 2025, commonly known as the anti-LGBTQ+ Bill, has said they will keep pushing until President John Mahama assents to the bill into law.
Speaking at the 4th Inter-Parliamentary Conference on Family, Values and Sovereignty, Sam George assured participants of his commitment to ensuring that the anti-LGBTQ+ Bill is transmitted to President Mahama for assent.
Sam George stated, “In 2024, we passed the Family Values Bill. It wasn’t assented to. We brought it back again. We passed it last Friday, and we’ll keep pushing until the President assents to it”.
He further urged African countries to take a more active role in developing laws that reflect their values and societal priorities rather than relying on frameworks shaped by foreign technology companies.
Meanwhile, on the sidelines of the 4th Inter-Parliamentary Conference on Family, Values and Sovereignty, Sam George has told journalists fired shots at the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, after he appealed for the reconsideration of the passed anti-LGBTQ+ Bill.
According to Sam George, Parliament is a House of rules and not a House of appeals.
He disclosed that the Speaker’s suggestion for a reconsideration of the bill is not supported by parliamentary procedure.
Sam George argued that the only role Parliament has now is to transmit the bill to the President, where the President has indicated he would want to scrutinise the bill.
Speaking to journalists at the 4th Inter-Parliamentary Conference on Family, Sovereignty and Values, Sam George stated, “The Speaker has made an appeal. I have gone through the Standing Orders since I saw that appeal, and there is nothing in our Standing Orders for a rescission. When Parliament passes a bill, Parliament is functus officio.
“The only role Parliament has today is to transmit the bill to the President. When it goes to the President, the President has indicated he would want to scrutinise the bill. The Constitution spells out the steps the President can take,” he said.
“Parliament is a House of rules. Respectfully to Mr. Speaker, it is not a House of appeals. If there is no rule in the rule book that allows what is being sought, then we proceed by the rules we have,” he added.
Also, President John Dramani Mahama has said that despite the passage of the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill, commonly known as the anti-LGBTQ+ bill, a few issued has been raised.
According to John Mahama, the passage of the anti-LGBTQI Bill by Parliament won’t be a law yet, as a few procedural hurdles that must be resolved before it reaches his desk for assent.
Speaking during a Chatham House interview on Monday, June 1, as part of his trip to the United Kingdom, President Mahama stated, “Parliament has been considering it, and it was supposed to have been passed last week. There have been a few issues raised.
“One, that there wasn’t a quorum when it was passed. That’s an issue that has come up. And then, two, there were some procedural lapses in terms of its passage.
“I just got some communication that the Speaker was reading a statement to address the issue of the lapses in the passage of the Bill. And so, like I said, when I was the opposition leader, the President had a number of options in this matter. It must come for assent.
“And so, once the President gets it, you go through it, because you are not part of the discussion in Parliament. And so, the legal representative, the legal counsel in the Presidency and the Attorney General would sit on it, because it was a private member’s motion. This was not a government bill.
“And so, we’ll look at it and make sure that everything is in order before the President is advised to assent”.
He added, “The President has another option if there are some things that he thinks are a problem. He can refer it to the Council of State for advice.
The Council of State is an advisory body to the President. And so, they’ll take a look at it, and then they’ll advise the President. And if there are issues — substantial issues that are raised — the President would return the Bill to Parliament, indicating exactly what the issues are.
And so, there’s still quite a while to go before that Bill becomes law”.
Watch the video below:
“We will keep pushing until the president assents to it”.— Samuel Nartey George, Minister for Communication, Digital Technology and Innovation.
— CITI FM 97.3 (@Citi973) June 4, 2026
He assures participants of 4th Inter-Parliamentary Conference on Family, Values and Sovereignty,his commitment to ensuring that the… pic.twitter.com/GrCp5jimXe
