The Vice Presidential Candidate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh (NAPO), recently accused the National Democratic Congress (NDC) of attempting to introduce homosexuality into the basic school curriculum during John Mahama’s time in office.
However, video clips of NAPO, when he was the Minister for Education at a UNESCO event, have emerged with him, bragging about how the Akufo-Addo government’s intention to introduce “sexuality education” in Ghana’s educational curriculum.
Speaking to NPP supporters in a viral video from the party’s ‘Bantama Big Walk 2024’, Kumasi on Saturday, October 5, 2024, NAPO, specifically implicated Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, the former Deputy Minister in charge of Tertiary Education, played a lead role in the development of the Comprehensive Sexuality Education for School Children curriculum, adding that chiefs and imams were influenced, among others, to lead the charge in teaching students.
According to the outgoing Member of Parliament (MP) of Manhyia South, during his review of the handing-over notes from the previous Education Minister, Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang, the NDC running mate, said he discovered that a new curriculum had been proposed to replace the old one, which allegedly included lessons on same-gender sexual activities for schoolchildren.
“The person who led this project was Okudzeto Ablakwa. They taught schoolchildren how people of the same sex should kiss, how men should kiss other men, and how women should kiss other women.
“They even went as far as teaching how a mother could engage in sexual activities with her daughter. These things happened right here in Ghana,” NAPO alleged.
However, in the video clip from the UNESCO event, NAPO pointed out the importance of “sexuality education” to Ghana’s development.
He added that “sexuality education” would be included in the country’s educational curriculum from kindergarten to Senior High School.
“Quality education has become a very important matter, particularly for the youth in our societies. Indeed, the changing societal context characterized by the free flow of information, media pluralism, and social media has dissected the need for education systems to provide accurate information on sexual education.
“We in Ghana have a guideline that I’ve shared with you that we see it is imperative if this nation should develop, that sexuality education should be part of the curricula that we would launch this year in September, all the way from kindergarten to Senior High School,” he said.
The ex-Deputy Education Minister and MP for North Tongu, Okudzeto Ablakwa, and his counterpart from Builsa South, Dr Clement Abas Apaak, had earlier accused the NPP running mate of lying about the NDC’s involvement in Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE).
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In a post shared via X, Okudzeto Ablakwa, challenged NAPO, as he is popularly referred to, to prove with evidence that he led the development of that curriculum.
He indicated that the Vice Presidential candidate for the NPP, is engaged in lies.
“When you say a prayer, please say one for Napo. He really needs help. I challenge him to produce the pro-LGBTQ curriculum he claims I prepared. I also challenge him to provide the names of pastors and imams who went around the country with me promoting LGBTQ. Desperate concoctions and outright falsehoods will not revive the failed Bawumia/Napo campaign,” he wrote.
The MP for Builsa South, Dr Apaak, also posted on X, Dr Apaak stated, “NAPO lied. Hon. Ablakwa as Deputy Education Minister and the NDC, had nothing to do with Comprehensive Sexuality Education.”
He explained that it was during NAPO’s tenure as Education Minister that the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia NPP government, announced guidelines and plans to introduce CSE into Ghana’s pre-tertiary educational system in 2019.
“It was during the tenure of Hon. Matthew Opoku Prempeh [NAPO], the NPP running mate, as the Education Minister, that the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia NPP government announced guidelines and plans to introduce Comprehensive Sexuality Education into our Pre-tertiary educational system in 2019. They backed off due to the overwhelming pushback by the Ghanaian people, led by a faith-based organization.
“The NPP’s plan faced intense backlash from Ghanaians, led by faith-based organizations, forcing them to abandon the initiative,” Dr Apaak noted.
Dr Apaak’s response emphasized, “It’s essential to set the record straight. The NDC had no involvement in introducing CSE.”
Interestingly, thousands of demonstrators on Tuesday, October 8, took to the streets to protest the prolonged delay in the approval of the anti-gay bill.
The protest, led by proponents of the Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill, commonly referred to as the anti-gay bill, witnessed a diverse group of participants, including activists, community leaders, and concerned citizens, all united in their call for swift legislative action.
The protest aims to push for the president’s immediate assent to the bill, which has been awaiting action since Parliament passed it on February 28.
The delays have been further compounded by a Supreme Court ruling on July 17, which postponed judgments on anti-gay cases until all related legal matters are addressed.
The bill’s lead advocate and MP for Ningo-Prampram, Samuel Nartey George, in an interview on Eyewitness News on Citi FM on Monday, stressed that the Chief Justice has the authority to fast-track the resolution of the matter if she deems it necessary.
“The Chief Justice has the power to demand of all the parties in the case, that they file within the times stipulated in the Rules of Procedure, that you file a statement of claim within 14 days. All of this is clear and the Chief Justice is the one who has powers to ensure that.
“If everybody is going to take one year to file their documents, the Chief Justice thinks that that is a proper delivery of justice, where parties in the case will determine as and when and how they would be doing their filing.
“Justice delayed is justice denied and the expeditious delivery of justice is critical to an effective justice delivery system and so the Chief Justice has to be up and doing,” he stated.
