Your stance on LGBTQI+ commendable – Wa Naa tells Dr Bawumia

“Your statement made at the most appropriate forum and at the appropriate time was a masterstroke,” he said. The Wa Naa said this when Dr Bawumia, who is also the 2024 flag bearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), paid a courtesy call on him at his palace in Wa, the Upper West Regional capital, at the start of his two-day campaign tour of the region.

Recall

Dr Bawumia made his position on the LGBTQI + known when he addressed Muslim faithful at the Eid celebrations in Kumasi on April 11, 2024. He explained that the country’s cultural and societal norms and values frowned on the practice of homosexuality.

“The Holy Quran is replete with verses frowning on LGBTQI+ acts, including same-sex marriages. One such verse is Quran Chapter 7 Verse 81 (Suratul Al-A’raf), where Almighty Allah emphatically forbids LGBTQI+ acts and describes them as acts that transgress beyond the bounds or the limits of nature. My faith is very strictly against the practice of homosexuality, no “ifs” or “buts”. No shades of grey.

“Therefore, I cannot support that which my religion, and indeed, all the major religions in Ghana clearly and unequivocally forbid. All the major religious traditions in Ghana (Christianity and Islam) are opposed to this practice and I stand opposed to it now and I will stand opposed to it as President, Insha Allah,” Dr Bawumia said at the Eid celebrations.

Wa Naa

The Wa Naa, in welcoming Dr Bawumia to his palace, also called on all political parties, their leaders and supporters to conduct their campaigns devoid of insults and hate speech as the electioneering heats up.

The Wa Naa thanked Dr Bawumia for the visit and wished him well in his bid to become the next President. As part of the tour, Dr Bawumia interacted with the clergy, youth groups and party sympathisers to share his vision with them, as well as solicit their support in his bid to become the next President.

Appreciation

Dr Bawumia for his part, expressed his gratitude to the Wa Naa for the warm reception and asked for his blessings and prayers to guide his campaign in the region. “I am sharing my ideas with the people of Ghana with no insults to anybody, just my ideas as to what I want to do if, by the grace of God, I am President of this country.

And this is how I have been campaigning throughout, talking about what we have done and talking about what we want to do as a party and myself as a President,” he said.
Dr Bawumia said he had many ideas that he wants to implement if elected as President.

“Extending agriculture, bringing irrigation, bringing technology to bear and that is something I want to help with. Our healthcare, the education of our children at the basic level and beyond, and technical training. All of these and also our infrastructure,” he said.

“We have a lot to do, but I believe that so far, our government has done quite a bit, even if we haven’t done everything. Now quite a bit in the Upper West Region. The achievements are very significant but we want to do more and I will do more,” Dr Bawumia said.