Member of Parliament for Odododiodoo, Edwin Nii Lante Vanderpuye
The Member of Parliament for Odododiodoo, Edwin Nii Lante Vanderpuye has indicated that president Akufo-Addo may be behind the persons who are fighting for gay rights in the country.
The former Minister for Youth and Sports, who has thrown his weight behind the Promotion of Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill which has been laid before Parliament to be passed, observed that the position of the fighters against the bill could be sponsored by the government.
Speaking to Mugabe Maase on the Gumbe show on TV XYZ Thursday night, the legislator suggested that the fact that the lead counsel for President Akufo-Addo in the 2020 election petition, Akoto Ampaw, is part of some influential academics fighting for gay rights to be recognised in Ghana indicate that the group is being backed by the government.
The MP said he did not trust Akufo-Addo’s neutrality on lesbianism and gayism because he could not denounce gayism and lesbianism as well as its related acts in an interview on an international platform.
Homosexuality is illegal in Ghana but President Akufo-Addo said there are not enough activists pushing for the legalization of LGBTQI.
“I don’t believe that in Ghana so far, a sufficiently strong coalition has emerged which is having that impact on public opinion that will say change it, let’s then have a new paradigm in Ghana,” Akufo-Addo is quoted to have said in an interview on Al Jazeera’s ‘Talk To Al Jazeera’ hosted by Jane Dutton in November 2017.
Some 15 professionals in various fields including law and academia have submitted a memo to Parliament to kick against the anti-LGBTQI+ bill to the chagrin of most Ghanaians and the clergy.
The learned group wants the bill rejected because the proponents of the bill have not provided any data or evidence to suggest that there is such a threat, beyond a resort to some dogmatic religious tenets and so-called Ghanaian family values,
They include: Lead Counsel for President Nana Akufo-Addo in the 2020 election petition hearing, Akoto Ampaw, Professor Kofi Gyimah-Boadi, Dr Rose Kutin-Mensah, and the Executive Director of Center for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana), Professor H. Kwasi Prempeh.
Others are Professor Audrey Gadzekpo, Professor Kwame KariKari, Professor Raymond Atuguba, and Dr Yao Graham.
The rest are: Professsor Dzodzi Tsikata, Kwasi Adu-Amankwah, Kofi Ofei-Nkansah, Dr Kojo Asante, Akunu Dake, Tetteh Homerku-Adjjei and Professor Emerita Takyiwaa Manuh.
Doubts
Nii Lante Vanderpuye believes the pressure being mounted on Parliament to drop the anti LGBTQI is well orchestrated by the government and its foreign influencers.
“When President Akufo-Addo was sworn in, some leaders from the western world came to visit him. Some are from Austria; you can check their background. French President Macron came to visit him; you can check his background too; you think if he is not one [of the LGBTQI advocates], he would have married a woman who is over 60 years?]. ”
He continued, “The German President (SIC) also came to visit; go and ask for her background. Italian Prime Minister also came to visit; you can check his background too. All these people who came to visit him are part of the advocacy President Akufo-Addo talked about.”
“The advocacy is not only locally-based but international as well. And the International organisations who want to persuade people to accept this [LGBTQI+] look for learned people who can influence public discourse. Don’t be surprised the President’s lawyer is leading the team. He led the president to the Supreme Court for almost 4 months and as he kept speaking in the court, he has become popular and people listen to him when he speaks.” he observed.
He said Prof Gadzekpor is a renowned educationist at the University of Ghana who is very influential hence she was strategically added to the group to fight for gay rights.
The former minister does not believe gay rights will be legalized in Ghana.