The Speaker of Ghana’s Parliament, Alban Bagbin, has ruled that James Agalga can serve only in an acting capacity as Majority Leader after President John Mahama nominated him for the position.
Mr Bagbin said the president had made an error by communicating the leadership change directly to Parliament. He made the comments on 24 August after reading a letter from President Mahama concerning the nomination of the Member of Parliament for Builsa North.
“… the President does not have authority to communicate the change in leadership. It was done in error,” Bagbin stated.
The Speaker said the Majority Leader must be chosen by the governing party’s parliamentary caucus, with the party formally communicating the decision through its General Secretary.
“Majority Leader means a Member of Parliament designated by the caucus as their Leader in the House. Party does the communication through the General Secretary,” he said.
Mr Bagbin therefore ruled that Mr Agalga could take up the role on an interim basis, while Mahama Ayariga would remain in the position until the correct parliamentary and party procedures had been completed.
“So, Ayariga will continue to occupy the seat until Party communicates and caucus accepts same,” he added.
The dispute follows the earlier announcement that Mr Ayariga had been nominated to become Minister of Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs.
On 7 August, sources cited by 3News reported that Mr Agalga had been informed by National Democratic Congress (NDC) General Secretary Fiifi Kwetey and the outgoing Majority Leader that he would become the next leader of government business in Parliament.
Mr Agalga is the NDC MP for Builsa North and chairs Parliament’s Defence and Interior Committee.
President Mahama also nominated Dr Zanetor Agyeman-Rawlings as Minister-designate for Environment, Science and Technology. The nominations were announced in a statement issued on 7 August by the Minister of Government Communications, Felix Kwakye Ofosu.
As part of the changes, Works and Housing Minister Kenneth Gilbert Adjei was reassigned to the Ministry of Defence. The changes represent the first ministerial reshuffle of President John Dramani Mahama’s second term in office.
Agalga’s parliamentary background
Mr Agalga is a four-term NDC MP, having served in Ghana’s 6th, 7th, 8th and current 9th Parliaments.
He previously served as Deputy Minister for the Interior under President John Mahama, gaining executive experience in the country’s internal security sector. Parliamentary records show him in that role by 2015.
He now oversees Parliament’s Defence and Interior Committee, whose areas of responsibility include defence, policing, immigration, prisons, fire services and other internal-security agencies. During the NDC’s period in opposition, he served as the committee’s Ranking Member.
Mr Agalga is also a member of Parliament’s Constitutional and Legal Affairs Committee, Ranking Member on the Human Rights Committee and a member of the Special Committee on Winnowing.
A lawyer by profession, he has worked as Managing Partner of Law Temple and with the Centre for Public Interest Law. He obtained an LLB from the University of Ghana in 2002, was called to the Bar after completing his Barrister-at-Law studies at Ghana School of Law in 2004, and earned an MA in Conflict, Peace and Security from the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre in 2018. He completed an LLM at the University of Ghana in 2023.
Meanwhile, Speaker Bagbin has referred the nominations of Mahama Ayariga and Dr Zanetor Agyeman-Rawlings to Parliament’s Appointments Committee for consideration and a report.
The committee has also been instructed to vet Justices Sophia Bernasko Essah, Edward Amoako Asante and Tony Forson this week for possible approval as Supreme Court judges.
