The Parliament of Ghana has summoned the Local Government Ministry and management of the Births and Deaths Registry to explain the basis for their declaration that certain Ghanaian names are unworthy for registration.
According to the Members of Parliament, the decision by the Births and Deaths Registry is illegal and should come to Parliament if they want it passed into law.
The issue was brought to the attention of the Speaker of Parliament by the Minority Leader Haruna Iddrisu who said the decision by the Registry is inappropriate.
Some Members of Parliament were concerned about how the directive would affect them, even including the president of the Republic, Nana Addo Danquah Akufo-Addo.
The decision to reject the registration of certain local prefixes and suffixes deemed as titles as part of names on birth certificates resurfaced this week.
According to the Registrar of Births and Deaths Registry, John Agbeko local names like ‘Nana, Nii and Togbe are mostly used as stool names and titles for leaders in the traditional setup, hence their decision not to allow such names to be registered.
The move has been met with strong disapproval from a section of the public who took to social media and traditional media platforms to express their displeasure.
Parliament under the direction of the Speaker has therefore summoned the Local Government Ministry to appear on Tuesday, January 30 to justify or reverse the reported directive of not registering certain indigenous names.
Meanwhile, pressure Group Occupy Ghana has threatened legal action against the Births and Deaths Registry if they fail to rescind its decision.
Read also: OccupyGhana to fight discrimination against local names in court
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