By: Admin.
The Speaker of the Cross River State House of Assembly (CRSHA), Rt. Hon. Elvert Ayambem, in a press release signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Matthew Okache, took a swipe on homosexual activities that was hosted by a hotel in Ekorinim in Calabar, on the 30th of June, 2023.
According to the press release, underaged teenagers were also in attendance. Speaker Ayambem has therefore warned that any further gay activities in the State will be decisively dealt with. Hence, perpetrators will be prosecuted in accordance with the law, prohibiting Same-sex Marriage that came into existence on the 7th of January, 2014 and accented to by former President Goodluck Jonathan.
Full Text of the Press Release:
GAYISM IS STILL A CRIME IN CROSS RIVERSTATE- SPEAKER ELVERT AYAMBEM
It has come to the notice of the Hon. Speaker of the Cross River State House Of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Elvert Ayambem, that on the 30th of June 2023, a certain hotel in Ekorinim in Calabar
Municipality, hosted a gay party in their premises, where under age teenagers were also in attendance.
The Honorable Speaker is already reaching out to security agencies in the State and relevant government MDAs to ensure that organizers of that obscenity and their collaborators are brought to book as a deterrence.
Speaker Ayambem, further wants to seize this occasion to warn anyone or any organization in connection with such unlawful activities to desist from such acts or risk prosecution by the authorities.
It will be recalled that, His Excellency, former President Goodluck Jonathan, on the 7th of January 2014, signed the “Same-Sex Marriage (Prohibition) Bill” into law. The law imposes a 14-year prison sentence on anyone who “(enters) into a same-sex marriage contract or civil union,” and a 10-year sentence on individuals or groups, including religious leaders, who “witness, abet, and aid the solemnization of a same-sex marriage or union.
It also imposes a 10-year prison sentence on those who “directly or indirectly make public show of same-sex amorous relationships and anyone who registers, operates, or participates in gay clubs, societies, and organizations, including supporters of those groups.
In addition, Speaker Ayambem, reminded hospitality operators in the State that, no hotel or club should entertain anyone under 18 years of age at any time, unless he/she is accompanied by their parents/and or guardians.
Signed:
Matthew Okache,
Chief Press Secretary to the Speaker.