"WE CAN TACKLE MULTIPLE PRIORITIES" — SAM GEORGE DEFENDS ANTI-LGBTQ BILL PUSH

Speaking on the sidelines of a press conference on Friday, April 10, 2026, Samuel Nartey George Minister for Communication, Digital Technology and Innovation, MP for Ningo-Prampram and the bill's most prominent champion  pushed back firmly against those who argue the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill should not be a priority given Ghana's pressing economic challenges. "This is a priority for us. Any country worth its salt can deal with multiple priorities at the same time," he said, his voice carrying the same conviction that made him one of the bill's most recognisable faces during its previous parliamentary journey.

George made his case with a personal story as much as a policy argument. He described a recent incident in which he helped a father locate his twenty-one-year-old son who had allegedly been abducted and kept by a fifty-five-year-old UK-based Ghanaian man. Working with the Director General of the Criminal Investigation Department, COP Lydia Donkor, George said the son was tracked and rescued. "People don't understand what this is about," he said. "We're not saying we should stop building roads because we don't have enough hospital beds." For George, such incidents are not anecdotal  they are the living justification for legislation he has championed for over four years.

The political context in which George is speaking has shifted considerably since the National Democratic Congress took office. When he served in opposition under the NPP government, George was among the bill's loudest voices, at times pledging that President Akufo-Addo would "know no peace" until the legislation was signed. Now, with his own party in power, questions about whether he has moderated his position have followed him publicly. He addressed them directly: "I will not trade my position on the innocence of Ghanaian children, my children and our Ghanaian family values for any political position. My views on LGBTQ+ remain the same."

George was also careful to clarify the procedural reality. The bill, which was originally passed by the 8th Parliament in February 2024 with bipartisan support, lapsed when parliament dissolved ahead of the December 2024 general election. In March 2025, a group of ten MPs  George among them reintroduced it as a private member's bill, which means it must begin the full parliamentary process again from the start. President Mahama had indicated he would prefer the bill to be reintroduced as a government bill rather than a private member's bill. As of April 10, no bill has been formally presented to the President for assent. "As we speak today, there is no bill before President Mahama to sign. So what am I agitating about?" George asked.

That procedural point, however, has not reduced the political heat around the issue. President Mahama's reported reluctance to prioritise the bill framing other economic issues as more pressing  marks a notable shift from the NDC's earlier posture in opposition, when the party often used the bill to paint the NPP as indecisive on matters of Ghanaian values. Human rights organisations, including Human Rights Watch, have condemned the reintroduced legislation, noting that it significantly expands criminal sanctions related to same-sex conduct, imposes up to three years in prison for anyone who even identifies as LGBT, and subjects advocates, journalists, teachers and medical professionals to prosecution if they are seen as supporting LGBTQ rights.

Ghana is scheduled to host the fourth African Inter-Parliamentary Conference on Family and Sovereignty in Accra in May 2026 a platform that has documented ties to US-based conservative advocacy groups. The conference's timing is not lost on observers: it will amplify the political pressure on parliament and on the presidency to demonstrate visible commitment to the legislation ahead of a gathering of like-minded legislators from across Africa. Ghana's position as the conference host makes inaction politically awkward for an administration that has not definitively opposed the bill but has also not championed it.

The international stakes are equally significant. Several of Ghana's major development partners — including the United States, the European Union and the United Nations — have previously urged Ghanaian leadership to reject the bill, citing fundamental human rights obligations. President Mahama's government, which is engaged in economic rebuilding including an ongoing IMF programme, is acutely aware that signing or prioritising the bill could complicate those relationships. The tension between deeply conservative domestic public opinion and the requirements of international partnerships has placed Mahama in what analysts describe as a genuinely difficult political position.

For Sam George, there is no contradiction and no difficulty. His position has not changed since he first introduced the bill in 2021, has not changed since his party came into government, and he says it will not change when the bill reaches the President's desk. "Those who want to politicise this, sorry, we won't take the bait," he said on Friday. In a parliament where conservatism on social issues runs across party lines, his conviction may ultimately prove more politically durable than the hesitation of the man who must eventually decide whether to sign.