Speaker of Parliament Alban Bagbin has rejected the procedure used by President John Dramani Mahama to announce Builsa North MP James Agalga as the new Majority Leader, insisting that changes to parliamentary caucus leadership must follow the rules of the House.
Speaking when Parliament resumed on Monday, August 24, 2026, Speaker Bagbin said the Presidency does not have the authority to formally notify him of a change in the leadership of the Majority or Minority Caucus.
He explained that Parliament’s Standing Orders require such changes to be communicated to the Speaker by the General Secretary of the political party concerned after the decision has been taken by the relevant parliamentary caucus.
The Speaker said the communication from the Presidency announcing Mr Agalga’s appointment was therefore made in error.
“The communication says acting because the President has no authority to communicate the change of the leadership of the House to the Speaker. And so it was actually done in error,” he stated.
According to Speaker Bagbin, the Standing Orders expressly define the Majority Leader as a Member of Parliament designated by the Majority Caucus to lead it in the House.
He said the established practice is for the governing party, through its General Secretary, to formally communicate the caucus’s decision to the Speaker.
“Clearly, our Standing Orders say Majority Leader means a Member of Parliament designated by the Majority Caucus as their leader in the House,” he explained.
Ayariga remains Majority Leader
The Speaker further clarified that Mr Agalga cannot formally assume the position until the required party and parliamentary procedures have been completed.
He said the governing party must first communicate the leadership change through the appropriate channel, followed by the decision of the Majority Caucus and the formal transmission of that decision to the Speaker.
Until then, Mahama Ayariga remains the recognised Majority Leader in Parliament.
“That is why you still see that the Majority Leader is still in his seat, because he’s still the Majority Leader, until otherwise communicated by the party and then decided by the caucus and the information passed on,” Speaker Bagbin said.
The clarification follows President Mahama’s announcement of Mr Agalga as the new Majority Leader to replace Mr Ayariga, who is expected to assume a new role in government.
Speaker Bagbin’s ruling means that although Mr Agalga has been announced politically as the incoming Majority Leader, his formal recognition by Parliament remains subject to the completion of the procedures prescribed by the Standing Orders.
The development also underscores the distinction between executive authority and the internal leadership arrangements of Parliament, with the Speaker stressing that parliamentary caucuses determine their own leadership in accordance with the rules of the House.
