Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, the Speaker of Parliament, has once again adjourned the House indefinitely.
The Thursday, November 07, 2024 sitting which followed the recall of the House from its earlier indefinite adjournment, was also adjourned sine dine because, there was no business for the legislators to deliberate on.
This, he says is because the Business Committee failed to convene and prepare an agenda for the floor.
Parliament was recalled by the Speaker following an initiation by the NPP caucus to address some businesses it has described as critical.
During the sitting where the NPP caucus failed to appear once again, the Speaker said their actions stalled proceedings, expressing disappointment over the development.
Addressing the House, the Speaker disclosed that the session could not proceed as planned following the absence of the Business Committee at the sitting.
“Matters that they wanted us to handle, which I admitted for consideration from the business committee, are not on the Order Paper and in fact, there is no order paper for today because the business committee could not meet due to the absence of the people who requested for the recall.
“As you can see one side of the House is completely empty. In view of this, we have a quorum to sit but we have no business before us to transact. In the absence of that, there is no other authority that can put business before you that you have not adopted to transact.
“In view of the failure of the business committee to sit, as a result of the refusal of those who requested a recall to show up, we are compelled to once again adjourn the sitting of the House. Knowing the challenges we are facing, it is not advisable to be adjourning from day to day. So, I will proceed once more to adjourn the meeting indefinitely,” he stated.
The second adjournment comes amid the ongoing tensions that has stemmed from the Supreme Court’s involvement in the ruling that was delivered by the Speaker to declare some four seats vacant.
The controversy over who occupies the majority caucus has brought a lot of confusion, negatively impacting parliamentary proceedings for the past weeks.
With the indefinite adjournment, it remains uncertain when Parliament will reconvene to address the stalled issues, leaving the legislative agenda for this session in a state of flux.
‘Executive, judiciary colluding to weaken Parliament’ – Bagbin on vacant seats brouhaha
