Majority Leader and Leader of Government Business, Mahama Ayariga, has firmly stated that Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, lacks the authority to reverse Parliament’s decision to pass the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill, 2025.
According to Ayariga, the controversial legislation was passed in full compliance with parliamentary procedures and standing orders, and no rules were breached during its consideration and approval by the House.
His comments follow concerns raised by Speaker Bagbin, who recently called on Parliament to reconsider the bill after expressing reservations about the process leading to its passage on Friday, May 29. The Speaker indicated that he had expected the House to begin consideration of the bill and was surprised to learn that all stages of the legislative process had already been completed.
Speaking on Eyewitness News on Tuesday, June 2, Ayariga dismissed suggestions that the bill was improperly passed and argued that the Speaker’s remarks amounted only to an appeal for lawmakers to revisit the legislation.
“The Speaker is only appealing. He cannot in any way reverse what has happened. What has happened has happened. We have passed many bills the same way, and indeed there was no rule that was breached at all,” Ayariga stated.
The Majority Leader explained that concerns regarding the requirement for a bill to remain at a particular stage for at least 24 hours before proceeding were addressed through a procedural motion for the abridgement of time.
According to him, the motion was duly moved and approved by the First Deputy Speaker, allowing Parliament to advance the bill to the third consideration stage without violating any parliamentary rules.
“If you check the Votes and Proceedings, you will see clearly that the procedural motion was moved and allowed by the First Deputy Speaker. We abridged time and that enabled us to take the bill through the third consideration stage. So there was absolutely no breach of procedure,” he said.
Ayariga also rejected claims that the bill could have been withdrawn by one of its sponsors, particularly Assin South Member of Parliament, John Ntim Fordjour.
He argued that the legislation had multiple sponsors and that the position of a single sponsor would not have affected the bill's progress through Parliament.
“The Honourable Ntim Fordjour could not have withdrawn the bill. He was not the only sponsor. There were several other sponsors, so whatever he threatened to do or not do had no effect whatsoever on the bill and its consideration by the House,” Ayariga added.
The controversy surrounding the bill intensified after Bosome Freho MP, Nana Asafo-Adjei Ayeh, reportedly raised concerns that none of the Minority Members who sponsored the legislation was present in the chamber when Parliament completed the final stages of its consideration.
The Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill remains one of the most debated pieces of legislation in Ghana, attracting strong support from religious and cultural groups while drawing criticism from human rights advocates and international observers.