Mr Alban Bagbin, the Speaker of Parliament, on Tuesday ruled as inadmissible, the Private Member’s Motion filed by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Minority Caucus in Parliament.
The Minority in Parliament was seeking to establish an ad hoc parliamentary committee to investigate an alleged Ghana-linked international drug seizure.
Delivering his ruling during an emergency Sitting, Mr Bagbin held that the motion, in its present form and at this stage of ongoing investigations and judicial proceedings, contravened Standing Orders 5, 6, 103(7)(8), as well as Orders 192 and 233.
According to the Speaker, proceeding with the motion now could prejudice the interests of parties involved in matters presently engaging in the criminal justice process.
“Honorable Members, it may also involve offence of witnesses, conduct and questions of responsibility which are relevant to pending proceedings,” he said.
He added that a parliamentary inquiry at this stage would require the House to determine issues including the roles of different parties in the transactions, how the transactions were carried out, and why certain actors took or failed to take action.
Mr Bagbin made it clear that the combined effect would be to determine the very issues that the courts were supposed to determine.
“Let me make the limits of this ruling clear. I am not ruling that Parliament can never enquire into this matter, nor am I suggesting that the matters raised by the requesting members are unimportant,” he stated.
“What I have determined is that this motion, framed in these terms, at this actual stage of the investigation and judicial proceedings, contradicts the Standing Orders, in that this is a procedural determination; it is not a determination of the underlying allegations,” Speaker Bagbin said on the Floor of Parliament.
He explained that under the Standing Orders, a Private Member’s Motion means a request by a member, not in the capacity as a member of leadership or a member of a committee of the House, that Parliament take an action, order something to be done or express an opinion concerning a matter of public interest.
Speaker Bagbin noted that the Motion in question was submitted by a member of leadership and was therefore inadmissible on that ground as well.
Wrapping up his ruling, the Speaker reflected Parliament’s broader democratic responsibility, saying the strength of Parliament was measured not only by the powers conferred by the Constitution but by the manner in which those powers were exercised.
“We must defend freedom of expression, we must defend the right to criticise, we must defend the right of the Minority to hold the majority accountable”, he said.
“Nevertheless, we must also defend the dignity of our institutions, the rights of citizens, the integrity of the judicial process, and the standard of conduct without which democratic politics becomes destructive.”
He affirmed that the members who requisitioned the sitting exercised their constitutional right under Article 112(3) of the 1992 Constitution and that the Office of the Speaker discharged its duty in summoning Parliament.
Mr Bagbin further affirmed that Parliament’s oversight responsibility remained intact, noting that Members may, subject to the Constitution, seek information from Ministers, review the performance of relevant public institutions, and examine border security and policy.
“What Parliament must avoid is conducting a parallel fact-finding exercise which may prejudice the interests of parties whose cases are presently before the court,” he cautioned.
In a formal notice issued from the Office of the Speaker on Thursday, September 24, 2026, the Speaker invoked his powers under Article 112 (3) of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana and Order 53 of the Standing Orders of Parliament.
Pursuant to the notice, Parliament sat on Tuesday, September 29, 2026, at 1200 hours at Parliament House, Accra.
The notice, signed by Mr Bagbin, reads in part: “Pursuant to Article 112 (3) of the Constitution and Order 53 of the Standing Orders of the Parliament, I, Rt. Hon. Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, the Speaker of Parliament, hereby summon Parliament to sit on Tuesday, September 29, 2026 at twelve noon at Parliament House, Accra.”
The summons was in line with Article 113(3 of the 1992 Constitution, which empowers the Speaker to summon Parliament before the next scheduled sitting when there is a need.
The NPP Minority Caucus in Parliament had petitioned the Speaker to recall the House to consider what it described as urgent national security concerns arising from alleged recent major narcotics seizures linked to consignments from Ghana.
The request, signed by Mr Habib Iddrisu, the First Deputy Minority Whip and NPP Member of Parliament (MP) for Tolon, invoked Article 112(3) of the 1992 Constitution and Order 53 of Parliament’s Standing Orders.
