Just a few weeks after witnessing a heated exchange between two prominent lawmakers, Ibrahim Murtala Mohammed and Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, during a parliamentary debate on the anti-LGBT bill, a surprising turn of events revealed them sharing smiles and exchanging pleasantries.
MyNewsGh.com has confirmed that the two politicians recently came together in Tamale to pay their respects at the funeral of their colleague Alhaji Alhassan Sayibu Suhuyini’s mother. This event provided an opportunity for them to interact in a friendly manner, dispelling any notion of animosity between them.
Sources close to the situation have revealed that despite their differing stances on various issues, Ibrahim Murtala Mohammed and Ursula Owusu-Ekuful share an amicable relationship and are not actually enemies as perceived.
Recalling the earlier incident, during the debate on the Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill (LGBTQ+), 2021, Ibrahim Murtala Muhammad had reacted strongly with unsavory comments. Following the unanimous adoption of the bill’s report, the floor was opened for members to contribute.
Ursula’s comments seemed to diverge from the general tone and focused on condemning the act. In response, Murtala allegedly made a whispered comment insinuating that she practiced same-sex activities. While Murtala’s statement wasn’t officially recorded due to it being off-microphone, Ursula claimed to have heard it.
Ursula then responded by gesturing that Murtala was behaving erratically. She later demanded an apology from Murtala in full view of the Deputy Speaker.
Murtala initially resisted, claiming he had made multiple statements and didn’t specify which one to retract. However, under pressure, he eventually offered a broad apology for the sake of peace.
Unsatisfied with Murtala’s apology, Ursula repeated the alleged comment for everyone to hear, adding that if her comments had also offended Murtala, she was sorry.
Despite this fiery exchange, recent events at the funeral in Tamale suggest that the two politicians are capable of maintaining a cordial relationship despite their differing opinions.