A member of the Council of State, Sam Okudzeto, has expressed his disapproval of the passage of the anti-LGBTQ+ bill.
He questioned its necessity and appropriateness, contending that such legislation shouldn’t have been tabled in the first place.
Mr. Okudzeto believes there are no valid grounds for state interference in the private affairs of consenting adults.
In an interview with Accra-based TV3 on Wednesday, Mr. Okudzeto questioned the perceived correlation between individuals intimate relationships and the broader economy.
He argued against subjecting the actions of adults in their private spaces to governmental oversight, stressing the importance of personal freedoms and privacy rights.
Mr. Okudzeto also questioned the clergy for their exclusive emphasis on homosexuality as a sin warranting legislative action.
He challenged whether the clergy are equally vocal and proactive in addressing other sins outlined in the Bible.
He argued that, the focus on anti-LGBTQ+ legislation distracts from addressing critical socio-economic challenges affecting all Ghanaians.
“We have even tried to induce the churches, they are all running around calling on the president to sign the bill. All the sins which are listed in the Bible, what have they been doing about it? LGBTQI is the only one they have seen? We talk about corruption, corruption, from the messenger to the top, every one of us is involved in corruption.
“When a man and woman go and sleep in the bedroom, is that my business? How does that affect the economy? How does that put food out of my mouth? Does that affect my education? So I have a different view altogether. I think the whole concept, is completely out of the issue…We are preoccupied with someone sitting with a man or a woman sitting with a woman as being a national issue. The whole thing about LGBTQI is a nonsense issue, it should not have come in the first place,” Mr. Okudzeto said.
Parliament on February 28, unanimously passed the bill on Human Sexual Rights and Family Values also known as the anti-LGBTQ bill.
Its transmission to President Akufo-Addo for his assent is stalled after two citizens challenged the constitutionality of the bill.
