Tamale Central Member of Parliament, Alhassan Sayibu Suhuyini, has described as insulting the decision of the Netherlands Embassy to deny him a visa.
The refusal has triggered backlash with some lawmakers threatening to force the closure of the embassy and a boycott of Dutch business interests in the country.
Suhuyini revealed late last week that he had been denied a visa with the reasons that he; “could not prove enough significant social and economic ties to Ghana” in his application.
But having applied through normal parliamentary channels and with what he says is a ‘rich travel history,’ he insists that the denial for all it was worth was an insult not only to him as a lawmaker but to the sovereignty of Ghana.
“I think it amounts to an insult not only to me as (an) MP but to the sovereignty of Ghana and Ghanaian state officials and diplomats as well.
“I have appealed this decision and waiting for a reply, after which I will lodge a complaint with our Ministry of Foreign Affairs to determine the next line of action,” he said on Accra-based Citi FM’s Eye Witness News on October 15.
As one of the promoters of the anti-LGBTQ+ Bill before Parliament, some people linked the visa refusal to his stance on same-sex relations, a position he has rejected despite saying those drawing the link can be forgiven.
“People can be forgiven to think the way they are thinking that this decision by the Netherlands Embassy to deny our application for visa is linked to the promotion that I am associated with to determine whether or not Parliament will pass the promotion of proper human sexual rights and Ghanaian family values bill into law…
“Personally, I am hesitant to link the decision of the embassy to this exercise… I am hesitant because the correspondence the embassy sent to me in response to the application for a visa did not communicate that,” he added.