There was drama at parliament on Wednesday, December 06, 2023, as some members of parliament clashed over the Promotion of Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill (anti-LGBTQI bill).
The Member of Parliament (MP) for Ningo-Prampram, Sam Nartey George, and the other MPs, who sponsored the bill, were not happy that the majority caucus of the house did not allow the bill to be taken during proceedings on Wednesday.
The MPs decided to hold a press conference to tell the general public that the majority caucus was “filibustering” the passage of the bill.
The First Deputy Majority Whip, Lydia Seyram Alhassan, somehow found her way to where the minority MPs having their press conference and came at the receiving end of jabs from the MPs.
Sam George could be heard saying, “You (Lydia Alhassan) were leading the house today, you should have taken the bill even for 30 minutes”.
Lydia Alhassan, the MP for Ayawaso West Wuogon could be held exclaiming that “the chairman (of the Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee) was not in, the Chairman was not in” as the anti-LGBTQI bill MPs were shouting at her.
Sam George retorted “There is nothing we cannot defend”.
They went on with the press conference, where the Ningo-Prampram legislator accused the majority caucus of refusing the order of the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, for the bill to be taken and the proposed corrections and amendments to it made.
He said that the majority caucus is using all manner of means to oppose the passage of the bill because they to disgrace the Speaker of Parliament who has promised that the bill would be passed before the end of 2023.
He added that the chairman of the committee the Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee, Kwame Anyimadu Antwi, deliberately absented himself so that it can be used as an excuse for the bill not to be taken.
Watch a video of the incident below:
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Sam George facing off with Lydia Alhassan at parliament on December 6, 2023