By Savannah Pokuaah Duah
Speaker of Parliament Alban Bagbin has adjourned the house indefinitely, again, due to a lack of quorum after New Patriotic Party (NPP) Members of Parliament (MPs) failed to show up for the session on Thursday, November 7, 2024.
Speaker Alban Bagbin adjourned Parliament indefinitely due to the absence of New Patriotic Party (NPP) Members of Parliament (MPs), which prevented the house from meeting the required quorum for decision-making.
This development was a significant setback for the emergency sitting, which was convened to tackle pressing national issues. With no business before the house, legislative action was impossible.
The Speaker expressed disappointment, emphasizing that the NPP MPs’ absence rendered the session ineffective and necessitated the adjournment.
Their absence meant that critical national issues would remain unaddressed, further exacerbating the country’s challenges. The adjournment highlights the deepening rift between the NPP and the National Democratic Congress (NDC), underscoring the need for cooperation and dialogue in addressing Ghana’s pressing concerns.
Speaker Alban Bagbin indefinitely adjourned Parliament, citing a lack of actionable items due to the New Patriotic Party (NPP) MPs’ absence, which prevented the Business Committee from meeting.
“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.