The Speaker of Parliament, Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, has summoned the House for an emergency meeting on Friday, May 17, 2024, in response to a petition filed by the Majority Caucus.
The summon, issued pursuant to Article 112(3) of the 1992 Constitution, follows a petition filed by the Majority Caucus on May 3, seeking an emergency meeting to address pending businesses before the House prior to recess.
According to a summon notice signed by the Speaker on Friday, May 10, the meeting will take place at Parliament House, Accra, at 10:00 a.m.
“Pursuant to Article 112(3) of the Constitution of the Republic and Order 53(1) and (2) of the Standing Orders of Parliament, I, Rt. Hon. Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, Speaker of Parliament, do hereby summon Parliament to sit on Friday, May 17, 2024, at ten o’clock in the forenoon, at Parliament House, Accra,” the notice reads.
The Constitution provides that 15% of Members of Parliament may request a meeting of Parliament, and the Speaker shall summon Parliament within seven days of receiving the request.
The Majority Leader, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, explained that the emergency recall became necessary after a memo requesting a recall yielded no result. “As far back as April 8, 2024, I, on behalf of colleagues, sent a memo to the Speaker in which I prayed the Speaker to exercise discretion and recall the House to deal with businesses pending before it, but to no avail. We are left with no option than to invoke our rights under Article 112(3) of the Constitution,” he said.
At the time the Speaker adjourned the House sine die on March 20, there were three businesses programmed for deliberation, including the approval or otherwise of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s ministerial nominees, a US$150 million facility for the GARID project, and tax waivers for entities under the one district, one factory policy.
