By Ashiadey Dotse
Speaker of Parliament Alban Bagbin has ruled a motion seeking parliamentary inquiry into recent major narcotic seizures linked to Ghana as inadmissible.
The ruling was delivered during Parliament’s emergency sitting on Tuesday, September 29, 2026.
The Speaker said he reached the decision after considering the motion, its proposed terms of reference, ongoing investigations, pending court cases and Parliament’s constitutional oversight role.
According to Speaker Bagbin, there was a substantial overlap between the proposed parliamentary inquiry and matters already before the courts. Allowing the inquiry to proceed in his view, could require Parliament to investigate the processing and clearance of the consignments, examine the conduct of individuals and institutions involved, and assess issues that are already part of ongoing criminal proceedings.
He said, such an exercise could result in Parliament determining matters that should be decided by the courts.
“The combined effect of undertaking this evaluation, assessment, and investigation would be, at the end of the day, to determine the very issues that the Court of Competent Jurisdiction is supposed to determine,” Mr Bagbin said.
The Speaker also expressed concern that the proposed inquiry could prejudice the interests of people whose cases are currently before the courts.
Mr Bagbin said the fact that members had exercised their constitutional right to request Parliament to meet did not automatically mean that the proposed motion could be debated. He stressed that Parliament has a responsibility to ensure the rights of members while also safeguarding the integrity of the judicial process.
He explained that the motion was subject to the Standing Orders governing parliamentary business therefore it could not proceed in its current form.
“I therefore rule, pursuant to Standing Orders 5, 6, and 103, Sub-Rule F, that the Private Member’s Motion is inadmissible,” Mr Bagbin declared.
The motion had sought the establishment of an ad hoc committee to conduct a bipartisan inquiry into reported high-profile narcotics seizures involving consignments linked to Ghana. Its proposed terms of reference included examining the processing, inspection, clearance and export of the consignments, the individuals and institutions involved, the status of investigations and prosecutions, as well as Ghana’s cooperation with international agencies involved in the issues at stake
The ruling means the proposed parliamentary inquiry, in the form submitted, will not proceed before the House.
