Majority Chief Whip Dafeamekpor Warns NPP Against Opposing Swift Passage of Anti-LGBTQ Bill

Ghana’s Majority Chief Whip, Rockson Nelson Dafeamekpor, has signalled that Parliament could pass the reintroduced anti-LGBTQ legislation within weeks, issuing a pointed warning to the opposition New Patriotic Party not to challenge the pace at which the bill is being processed.

Speaking on JoyNews’ PM Express programme on Tuesday, the South Dayi MP revealed that the committee tasked with handling the Ghanaian Family Values Bill has completed its work and is ready to present its findings to the House.

“The report will be laid on Thursday,” Mr Dafeamekpor stated, adding that Parliament is set to receive two related reports during the same sitting.

According to the Majority Chief Whip, once the committee report is formally presented, lawmakers can proceed almost immediately to debate and adopt the bill during its second reading stage. He outlined a legislative timetable that could see the bill move from report stage to final passage in a matter of days rather than months.

“Once it is adopted, we move into the consideration stage. With the consideration stage, we can even decide to do that on Friday, and pass,” he said.

The rapid timetable rests on a key argument: that the substance of the current bill is largely unchanged from a version Parliament had already approved in a previous session. That earlier version, however, failed to receive presidential assent, leaving its legal status in limbo and forcing the legislative process to begin anew.

“You see, the Ghanaian family values bill, we have already passed it. It was a certain president who decided not to sign,” Mr Dafeamekpor said. “So the terms of the bill are essentially what Parliament had already passed.”

The bill’s reintroduction comes at a sensitive moment in Ghanaian politics. The NPP, still grappling with the aftermath of its 2024 election defeat and questions over its communication strategy, faces a delicate political calculation. Opposing the bill’s swift passage risks being characterised as obstructionist on a matter of cultural values, while supporting it hands the Majority an uncontested legislative victory.

Mr Dafeamekpor appeared to anticipate that tension, issuing a direct caution to his colleagues across the aisle. “But when we do consideration expeditiously, let the NPP not shout that we are abusing the certificate of urgency,” he said.

He maintained that the speed of the process reflects familiarity rather than haste. “Because it will be rapidly done, because we cannot be reenacting what we have already read,” he argued.

The Majority Chief Whip’s comments suggest the governing party is confident of its numbers in Parliament and intends to use the bill’s passage as a demonstration of legislative efficiency. Whether the NPP will acquiesce or mount procedural objections remains to be seen, but the political dynamics have left the opposition with limited room to manoeuvre without appearing to resist popular sentiment on a culturally sensitive issue.

The bill is expected to be formally debated later this week.

Image Source: MYJOYONLINE