Claim: LGBTQ+ bill was not before former President Akufo-Addo when he left office
Source: Samuel Abdulai Jinapor
Verdict: True
Researched by Gifty Tracy Aminu
The debate about the reintroduction of the LGBTQ bill in the ninth Parliament and the current government’s commitment to pass the bill into law have been in the news as the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) mounts pressure on the government to fulfil a key campaign promise.
The Member of Parliament for Damongo, Samuel Abdulai Jinapor, claimed the LGBTQ bill passed by the 8th Parliament was not on the desk of former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo at the time his government left office in January 2025.
On April 21, 2026, Metro TV shared a quote card which said “LGBTQ+ Bill was not before Akufo-Addo when we left office,” and attributed it to the MP.
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GhanaFact traced the comment to an interview the MP granted to the state broadcaster, Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC). Speaking about the LGBTQ+ Bill, this is what ensued:
Host: “It got to the President and all he had to do was sign, or it did not get to President Akufo-Addo?”
Jinapor: “To be fair to the fact, it did not get to President Akufo-Addo. By the time he was leaving office, there was no such Bill on his desk. Because, transmitting a bill from Parliament to the President’s desk in itself is a matter of procedure and law, and it did not happen.” (watch from 37mins: 18secs)
This fact-check report will verify the claim by the MP.
Fact-check
On February 28, 2024, the Parliament of Ghana passed the anti-LGBTQ+ bill, a private members’ bill, sponsored by eight lawmakers from both sides of the chamber.
What next when a bill is passed?
According to parliamentary procedures; where a bill passed by Parliament is presented to the President for assent he shall signify, within seven days, to the Speaker that he assents to the bill or that he refuses to assent to the bill, unless the bill has been referred by the President to the Council of State under article 90 of this Constitution.
In the case of the LGBTQ Bill, the president’s first comment on it was in an address to the Diplomatic Corps on March 4, 2024, when he indicated that the bill was yet to get to his table while citing a case filed at the Supreme Court to challenge the constitutionality of the bill.
However, it was on March 5, 2024, that a private legal practitioner and broadcast journalist, Richard Dela Sky, filed an application with the Supreme Court, seeking a declaration that the bill is null, void, and of no effect.
Also, on March 18, 2024, the Secretary to the President at the time, Nana Asante Bediatuo, issued a statement directing Parliament to refrain from submitting the bill to the desk of the President while citing two separate cases before the Supreme Court, challenging the constitutionality of the Bill. The two cases were Dr. Amanda Odoi v. The Parliament of Ghana and the Attorney-General (J1/13/2023) and Richard Sky v. The Parliament of Ghana and the Attorney-General (J1/9/2024).
The Supreme Court on December 18, 2024, unanimously dismissed both applications by Dr. Odoi and Sky. The court, led by Justice Lovelace Johnson held unanimously that until a Bill receives presidential assent, it does not constitute an enactment subject to judicial review for constitutionality. In response to the ruling, plaintiff Dela Sky mentioned on Channel One News that he would seek judicial review of the unanimous decision.
However, on February 26, 2025, the lawyer of the plaintiff, Paa Kwasi Abaidoo, announced to the court his client’s decision to withdraw the case.
In conclusion, the activities after the passing of the bill in Parliament show that the bill was never formally before former President Akufo-Addo for assent and same is therefore true at the time he was leaving office.
Verdict
Therefore, the claim is true.
