Founder and President of the Worldwide Miracle Outreach, Dr. Lawrence Tetteh has urged his fellow clergymen and women over their silence on the anti-LGBTQ+ bill passed in February this year.
Although the bill has since landed in the Supreme Court after two private individuals filed separate suits seeking to declare its passage by Parliament as illegal, which the President cites as his excuse not to entertain and assent to it, Dr. Tetteh believes President Akufo-Addo should not have hesitated to sign the bill into law.
He vows to march to the seat of government should the president fail to sign the bill if the Supreme Court endorses its passage.
“I’ll march to the Jubilee House. I think it’s about time we make politicians know we voted them into power. The cowardice that Christian leaders and religious leaders have been reduced to is a shame and I’m embarrassed by some of our clergymen.
“As much as we are interested in our titles, in the big titles, and who we are and how long we’ve served, I’m yet to hear certain people speak against these manners. And for me, that is a shame. And so it starts from my home too.”
Dr. Lawrence Tetteh
He added that every leader has been too quiet about the happenings in the country.
“It starts from the Clergymen. It begins with the religious clerics. It starts from the home of the Chief Iman. It begins with the Chairman of the Christian Council. It begins with the Apostolic leaders. It starts from the Apostolic fathers. It also starts from the Catholics, Methodists, Presbyterians, and Anglicans.
“But also beyond that, it starts from the charismatic leaders. We’ve been too quiet. And as much as we are grumbling, everybody wants to impress certain people, and that nonsense, for me, must stop.”
Dr. Lawrence Tetteh
The clergyman joins a long list of religious leaders and groups who are pressuring the President to sign the bill into law.
But the Presidency in a letter to the Clerk to Parliament on March 18, 2024, indicated that President Akufo-Addo would refrain from giving his assent, attributing his decision to pending court cases against the bill.
Rev. Tetteh Calls for Peaceful Election in December
Rev. Dr. Lawrence Tetteh admonished the Minister for the Interior, Henry Quartey, and the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Dr George Akuffo-Dampare, to ensure that the upcoming general election is conducted in a peaceful manner devoid of incidents that could mar the prevailing unity and tranquillity in the country.
He, therefore, urged the two personalities to deploy adequate security personnel to all political campaigns and other social activities that had the potential of creating violence before, during, and after the December 7, 2024 general election.
Rev. Dr. Tetteh stressed that the upcoming general election was crucial and any laxity on the part of the security agencies could plunge the nation into chaos.
He seized the opportunity to advise the leadership of all the political parties in the country, especially the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) to impress upon their members to conduct their campaigns with decorum devoid of the use of intimidation and hate language that could result in violence.
He stated that the dangers of offenses, including political violence, could mar cordial relationships and make responsible people lose respect.
Rev. Dr. Tetteh advised people holding top positions not to use it to intimidate the less endowed as power was transitory and they could lose it at any time.
He advised Ghanaians to emulate the lifestyle of the late DSP David Yeboah Yohuno, who led a very decent lifestyle, which was demonstrated by the large attendance at the funeral and the testimonies they gave about him.
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