#BreakingNews At 11:42 a.m. on 16 December 2025, the Speaker of the House, Auapaʻau Mulipola Aloitafua, suspended Tuilaepa from Parliament for 24 hours because he spoke against the Prime Minister in a way the Speaker deemed inappropriate.
Tuilaepa used language against the Prime Minister that was not appropriate for Parliament. The incident happened as Parliament was going into its morning break and was seen by Cabinet Ministers, Members of Parliament, and parliamentary staff.
The Speaker was disappointed reminded all MP’s that respectful language must be used in Parliament.
This all came about after the Prime Minister had given a ministerial statement to Parliament.
In the statement, he spoke about claims made against the Government since it took office on 16 September. He accused Tuilaepa of leading a social media campaign against the Government and said some statements were defamatory and possibly treasonous.
The Prime Minister told the Attorney General to investigate whether these statements could threaten the stability of the Government and the country.
The Deputy Prime Minister, Toelupe Poumulinuku Onesemo, moved for the matter to be formally tabled in Parliament and the motion was passed.
Tuilaepa tried to change the motion so the statement could be debated, but his proposal was not supported by MP’s.
The leader of the opposition added that if he was not allowed to speak in Parliament, he would find other ways to express his views outside the House.
Tuilaepa is expected to return to Parliament after tomorrow morning’s break.
Parliament is currently in its final sitting for the year. Members are debating the Tax Exemption for International Companies Amendment Bill, which aims to help Samoa be removed from the European Union blacklist. Samoa has been on the list since 2017, and the issue affects about 31,000 international companies registered under the country’s offshore finance system.
