Speaker of Parliament, Rt. Hon. Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, has summoned the House to sit on Tuesday, 29 September 2026, at 12 noon at Parliament House in Accra. The Speaker's Office issued the notice on Thursday, 24 September, invoking Article 112(3) of the 1992 Constitution and Order 53 of Parliament's Standing Orders. The notice does not provide a reason for the recall.
The recall comes as lawmakers grapple with a string of major narcotics seizures traced back to consignments originating in Ghana. The Minority in Parliament had petitioned Bagbin for an extraordinary sitting, arguing that the scale of the seizures amounts to an urgent national security matter requiring scrutiny of the country's ports, customs controls, and narcotics enforcement systems.
The push for a recall follows days of escalating political back-and-forth. The Minority had secured enough signatures to force a recall over what it called a cocaine crisis, after the NPP demanded the sacking of nine security officials linked to the seizures. Deputy Communications Minister Shamima Muslim warned that politicians linked to drug trafficking networks would be exposed, signalling how politically charged the matter has become.
Not everyone in the House agreed a recall was necessary. Some Majority MPs had questioned whether Parliament needed to reconvene while agencies were still investigating. The recall puts Ghana's port security and drug enforcement machinery squarely under parliamentary scrutiny. It matters for ordinary Ghanaians because the seizures raise questions about how goods move through the country's ports and whether current checks are adequate.
The Minority wants officials from the Narcotics Control Commission, Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority, Ghana Revenue Authority, and National Intelligence Bureau to appear before the House to answer for how such consignments were processed and cleared. The seizures at the centre of the row include a haul of more than 3.3 tonnes of cocaine at Pedu Junction in March 2025 and nearly 3.9 tonnes intercepted at the Port of Dunkirk in France.
Parliament is scheduled to sit on 29 September at noon, but the agenda for that sitting has not been made public. This will be the first emergency sitting since 24 August 2026, when Parliament last held an unscheduled meeting. Article 112(3) of the Constitution allows the Speaker to summon Parliament outside its normal sessions when required.
The outcome of the emergency sitting could have significant implications for Ghana's port security and drug enforcement systems. The sitting may lead to increased scrutiny of the country's ports and customs controls, and potentially, the implementation of new measures to prevent similar seizures in the future.
Key points
- The recall of Parliament is linked to recent cocaine seizures in Ghana.
- The Minority in Parliament had petitioned for an extraordinary sitting.
- The emergency sitting may lead to increased scrutiny of Ghana's port security and drug enforcement systems.
