NDC used anti-LGBTQ bill as a tool to secure power -Baffour Awuah

New Patriotic Party (NPP) Member of Parliament for Manhyia South and Vice Chairman of the Subsidiary Legislative Committee of Parliament, Nana Agyei Baffour Awuah, has accused the National Democratic Congress (NDC) of using the Anti-LGBTQ+ Bill as a political instrument to win power, arguing that the party has failed to demonstrate a genuine commitment to its passage since assuming office.

Speaking in an interview on Joy News Desk on May 25, Mr Baffour Awuah said the governing party’s posture on the bill reveals what he described as a pattern of political expediency, insisting that key campaign promises are not being pursued with the same urgency in government.

“They only used it as a tool to secure political power. Now they have what they want, so once they have what they want, what other interest do they have?” he said.

He further argued that the alleged trend is not limited to the anti-LGBTQ+ bill but also reflects what he described as inconsistencies in the government’s approach to other national issues, including the fight against illegal mining.

“You have seen that with the fight against galamsey, it was just a weapon tool to secure political power. They went on demonstrations upon demonstrations,” he alleged.

Mr Baffour Awuah claimed that attempts in Parliament to hold the government accountable on some of these issues had been resisted.

“We have even asked them to come to Parliament to answer for that. When the motion was brought to the floor of Parliament for them to come and answer to some of these issues, they rejected that,” he stated.

According to him, these developments point to a wider pattern of divergence between opposition rhetoric and governance decisions.

“So clearly there is a trend. The trend suggests that what they said in opposition was just meant to get political power. They are now governing with what they really meant; their real intentions are showing,” he said.

Mr Baffour Awuah also cited the issue of single sourcing in public procurement, alleging a shift in position by President John Dramani Mahama.

“For instance, President Mahama said that once he comes to power, single sourcing was going to be a thing of the past. In his inaugural State of the Nation Address, he repeated that,” he noted.

He, however, argued that the stance later changed in subsequent addresses.

“In his subsequent State of the Nation Address, he didn’t say it was going to be a thing of the past; he said it was going to be a real occurrence. So his position shifted,” he said.

Mr Baffour Awuah maintained that there is a significant gap between the NDC’s promises in opposition and its actions in government, describing it as a “serious gulf” between rhetoric and implementation.

المصدر: MyJoyOnline (GH)