Appointments Committee to vet two ministerial, three Supreme Court nominees

Speaker of Parliament Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin has explained that the House was recalled for five days to consider a number of urgent matters of state, including ministerial and Supreme Court nominations and an amendment to the banking law.

Addressing Members of Parliament on Monday, August 24, 2026, Mr Bagbin said the recall followed a request from President John Dramani Mahama for Parliament to consider matters he deemed too urgent to wait until the House resumes its normal sitting in October.

He said the President, in a letter dated August 11, 2026, drew his attention to three matters requiring urgent parliamentary consideration.

Among them were the nominations of Mahama Ayariga, MP for Bawku Central, as Minister-designate for Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs, and Dr Zanetor Agyeman-Rawlings, MP for Klottey Korle, as Minister-designate for Environment, Science and Technology.

The Speaker subsequently referred the two nominees to the Appointments Committee for consideration and a report to the House.

Mr Bagbin also read a letter from the President dated August 7 concerning the reassignment of Kenneth Agyei as Minister-designate for Defence and Ahmed Ibrahim, MP, as Minister-designate for Works, Housing and Water Resources.

He further informed the House that, following consultations with the leadership of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), James Agalga, MP, had been designated as Acting Majority Leader.

Supreme Court nominees
The Speaker also disclosed that he had received a communication from President Mahama dated August 21, 2026, concerning the nomination of three persons to the Supreme Court.

The nominees are Justice Sophia Rosetta Bernasko-Essah, a Justice of the Court of Appeal; Justice Edward Amoako Asante, also a Court of Appeal Justice and former President of the ECOWAS Court of Justice; and Anthony Forson Jr., a private legal practitioner and former President of the Ghana Bar Association.

Mr Bagbin said the nominees had been submitted to the Judicial Council for consideration.

He added that the Council of State, in a letter dated August 20, informed the President that it had considered the nominations and found the three candidates “qualified and suitable” to serve on the Supreme Court.

The Speaker consequently referred the nominations to the Appointments Committee for consideration and a report within the five-day recall period.

Urgent banking bill
Another key item on the agenda is the Banks and Specialised Deposit-Taking Institutions (Amendment) Bill, which the President has requested Parliament to consider.

Mr Bagbin said the bill was particularly significant because of its potential implications for the regulation, stability and functioning of Ghana's financial sector.

He explained that after receiving the President's request, he carefully considered the matters presented and the reasons given for their urgent consideration.

According to him, Order 58(4) of Parliament's Standing Orders gives the Speaker the discretion to recall the House during an adjournment when circumstances warrant such an exceptional step.

“A request for recall of the House during adjournment did not, merely by its presentation, automatically result in a recall,” he said.

He said he was satisfied that the matters presented by President Mahama were sufficiently urgent and important to justify invoking the provision and reconvening Parliament before its scheduled resumption.

Mr Bagbin said the proposed banking legislation was of particular concern because waiting until the House's normal resumption in October could have implications for the financial sector and the wider economy.

Limited business
The Speaker consequently directed MPs to restrict their deliberations during the recall to the matters specifically outlined by the President.

He stressed that other parliamentary business should be left for the ordinary sitting of the House.

“In other words, Mr Speaker is not willing and not ready to admit any other business because those are normal businesses to be transacted during normal sittings, not a recall sitting,” he said.

Mr Bagbin also urged MPs to maintain decorum throughout the emergency sitting, calling for firm convictions without unnecessary acrimony, disagreement without disrespect and robust debate without obstruction.

“I will urge you during this emergency recall to demonstrate the highest standards of parliamentary conduct, firmness of conviction without needless acrimony, disagreement without disrespect and vigorous truth without obstruction,” he said.