The Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, has officially announced James Agalga, Member of Parliament for Builsa North, as the designated Majority Leader.
However, Mr Bagbin clarified that Agalga will serve in an acting capacity because the change in parliamentary leadership was not communicated through the proper channel.
According to the Speaker, the President does not have the authority to communicate changes in parliamentary leadership to the House. He explained that the NDC caucus must designate its leader and the party’s General Secretary must formally communicate the decision to Parliament.
“Acting because the President does not have authority to communicate the change in leadership. It was done in error,” Mr Bagbin said after reading a communication from President John Mahama to Parliament on August 24.
He added that Mahama Ayariga, who was recently nominated as Minister for Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs, will continue to occupy the Majority Leader’s seat until the appropriate communication is made by the party and accepted by the caucus.
Agalga’s expected elevation follows Ayariga’s nomination to the Mahama administration. President Mahama also nominated Dr Zanetor Agyemang-Rawlings as Minister-designate for Environment, Science and Technology, while Works and Housing Minister Kenneth Gilbert Adjei was reassigned to the Ministry of Defence.
Who is James Agalga?
James Agalga is a four-term NDC MP for Builsa North, having served in Ghana’s 6th, 7th, 8th and 9th Parliaments.
He previously served as Deputy Minister for the Interior under former President John Mahama, giving him experience in Ghana’s internal security sector.
He currently chairs Parliament’s Defence and Interior Committee, which oversees matters involving defence, policing, immigration, prisons and fire services. He has also served as Ranking Member of the committee while the NDC was in opposition.
Agalga is a lawyer and has worked as Managing Partner of Law Temple and with the Centre for Public Interest Law.
He holds an LLB from the University of Ghana, a Barrister-at-Law qualification from the Ghana School of Law, an MA in Conflict, Peace and Security from the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre, and an LLM from the University of Ghana.
Meanwhile, Speaker Bagbin has referred the nominations of Mahama Ayariga and Dr Zanetor Agyemang-Rawlings to Parliament’s Appointments Committee for consideration and report.
The committee has also been tasked to vet Justices Sophia Bernasko Essah, Edward Amoako Asante and Tony Forson for possible appointment to the Supreme Court.
Source: 3news
