BAGBIN RECALLS PARLIAMENT FOR SEPTEMBER 29 SITTING FOLLOWING CALLS TO PROBE NARCOTICS SEIZURES

A notice issued by the Office of the Speaker on Thursday, September 24, states that the House will convene at 12 noon at Parliament House in Accra. The notice does not state the specific reason for the recall. “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, 29th September, 2026 at twelve noon at Parliament House, Accra,” the notice said. However, the recall comes amid growing concerns over a series of major narcotics seizures linked to consignments from Ghana. The Minority in Parliament has petitioned the Speaker for an extraordinary sitting, citing what it says are urgent national security concerns and calling for scrutiny of Ghana’s ports, customs controls, intelligence gathering and narcotics enforcement systems. The Minority has cited several seizures since 2025 which it says have a combined value of more than US$1 billion. Among them are the seizure of more than 3.3 tonnes of cocaine at Pedu Junction in March 2025 and the recent interception of nearly 3.9 tonnes of cocaine at the Port of Dunkirk in France from a container that had departed Ghana. The caucus wants Parliament to examine how the consignments were processed, inspected and cleared, as well as the roles of the relevant security and state agencies. It has also called for responsible Ministers and officials from institutions including the Narcotics Control Commission, Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority, Ghana Revenue Authority and National Intelligence Bureau to appear before the House. The planned sitting comes after differing views within Parliament over whether a recall is necessary. While the Minority has argued that the scale of the seizures warrants urgent parliamentary oversight, some Majority MPs have questioned the need for a full recall while investigations by the relevant agencies remain ongoing. The notice was dated September 24, 2026, and signed by Speaker Alban Bagbin. Parliament’s official website currently lists the House as being on recess and shows an emergency meeting on its parliamentary calendar.