Alban Bagbin, the Speaker of Parliament, has said President John Dramani Mahama’s announcement of Builsa North MP James Agalga as the new Majority Leader was not in accordance with parliamentary procedure.
Speaker Bagbin highlighted that the President does not have the authority to formally communicate a change in the leadership of a parliamentary caucus to the Speaker.
According to Speaker Bagbin, under Parliament’s Standing Orders, any change in the leadership of the Majority or Minority Caucus must be formally communicated to the Speaker by the General Secretary of the political party.
Speaking on Monday, August 24, 2026, Speaker Bagbin made the clarification, saying, “The communication says acting because the President has no authority to communicate the change of the leadership of the House to the Speaker. And so it was actually done in error. This matter has come before the House a number of times. As a result, even in our current Standing Orders, we had to define the two terms, Majority Leader and Minority Leader.
“And clearly our Standing Orders say Majority Leader means a Member of Parliament designated by the Majority Caucus as their leader in the House. And as you know, the practice is that the party, under the hand of the General Secretary, communicates that decision of the party to the Speaker,” he said.
Alban Bagbin also revealed that Agalga could only assume the position after the appropriate communication is received from the governing party.
“So the procedure today may look different. That is why you still see that the Majority Leader is still in his seat, because he’s still the Majority Leader, until otherwise communicated by the party and then decided by the caucus and the information passed on,” he added.
Speaker Bagbin’s comments follow President Mahama’s announcement of Mr Agalga as the new Majority Leader, replacing Mahama Ayariga, who is expected to take up a new role in government.
James Agalga, the Member of Parliament for Builsa North, was named as the new Majority Leader in Parliament.
The decision follows President John Mahama’s nomination of Mahama Ayariga as Minister for Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs-designate.
Earlier reports had suggested James Agalga, the Builsa North Member of Parliament, was tipped to replace Mahama Ayariga as Majority Leader following his appointment as Minister for Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs.
Sources within the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Caucus in Parliament made this known.
Majority Leader, Mahama Ayariga, was reassigned as Minister for Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs in President Mahama’s cabinet reshuffle announced on Friday, August 7, 2026.
According to reports, the NDC chose James Agalga over South Dayi MP Rockson-Nelson Dafeamekpor, who was also considered for the position.
The Builsa North MP is currently serving as Deputy Ranking Member on Parliament’s Defence and Interior Committee.
The information gathered suggests that Dafeamekpor, the Majority Chief Whip, was regarded as a strong contender for the position due to his experience; however, the NDC caucus favoured Mr Agalga’s approach and experience.
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