By Linus Aleke, Abuja
The Speaker of ECOWAS Parliament, Dr. Sidie Mohammed Tunis, has tasked leaders in West Africa to prioritize respect for human rights, as well as the fight against corruption in the interest of economic growth, good governance and sustainable development.
Dr. Tunis, also said that good governance in the sub-region for is not about building schools and roads.
The Speaker noted that if leaders in the sub-region respects and uphold the fundamental rights of the people as well as vigorously pursue the fight against corruption,
good governance would be guaranteed.
Dr. Tunis who said this while, fielding questions from newsmen, also noted that if these two things are achieved, the other issues would fall in place on their own.
The Speaker said: “We should uphold good governance and encourage our leaders to uphold good governance, and fight corruption, because when a leader is corruption free, that leader has nothing to hide. When a leader is corrupt by the time his term is coming to an end, he begins to think of what is going to happen after he has left office.
Again, when you are clean, like me right now, I am free because I know my hands are clean. So, I want to get the inauguration as soon as possible, I want to hand over the mantle to a new Speaker, and that goes for our leaders in the sub-region”.