Is Bediatuo Asante now going to dictate to Parliament? – Okudzeto Ablakwa bares teeth at Clerk over new letter

Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, the Member of Parliament for North Tongu, has hit out at the Clerk of Parliament, Cyril Ansah, over his letter to the presidency, seeking clarity on the date convenient for the presidency to receive the Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill, known widely as the anti-LGBT bill.

Speaking on the Friday, April 12, 2024 edition of Metro TV's Good Morning Ghana programme, Okudzeto Ablakwa questioned the 'strategy' being adopted by the Clerk.

Ablakwa, who described the move as offensive, accused the Clerk of not following the dictates of the constitution by issuing that letter to the presidency.

He promised to demand answers from the Clerk's office when Parliament resumes sitting.

"I don't know what the strategy is, but I feel offended by this letter, particularly the third paragraph. Are you subjecting our constitutional mandate to the whims and caprices of the president or Secretary to the president? What happened to our constitutional independence? These are constitutional matters.

"So now Nana Bediatuo Asante is going to dictate to Parliament when we should communicate with the executive? When we should move forward with our mandate? What is the meaning of this? When the house resumes, the Clerk better have some explanation because we will take him on," Ablakwa said.

On April 10, 2024, Cyril Nsiah, the Clerk to Parliament, contacted Nana Bediatuo Asante, the Executive Secretary to the President, seeking clarification on when to transmit the controversial Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill, also known as the anti-LGBTQI+ bill, to President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.

In his letter to Mr. Bediatuo Asante dated Wednesday, April 10, Mr. Nsiah expressed his intention to transmit the bill in accordance with Article 106(7) of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana.

"I am writing to acknowledge receipt of your letter No. OPS 140/1/24/235 dated March 18 2024, on the above subject matter and received in my Office on March 19 2024," Mr. Nsiah wrote.

"I have taken note of the contents of the letter, particularly the text in the last paragraph, which states that 'In the circumstances, you are kindly requested to cease and desist from transmitting the Bill to the President until matters before the Supreme Court are resolved."

"Accordingly, I await an indication in writing from your Office on when to present the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill, 2024, to His Excellency the President for his consideration, pursuant to Article 106(7) of the Constitution, 1992," the Clerk noted.

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