By Linus Aleke, Abuja
The Parliament of the Economic Community of West African States, otherwise known as (ECOWAS) Parliament has considered and adopted crucial parliamentary instruments to guide the progress and implementation of its mandate.
This was part of decisions reached at the ongoing 2024 second extraordinary session of the parliament in Kano.
The protocols consist of the rules of procedure, the strategic plan and the 2024 work plan of the parliament.
Acting Speaker of the ECOWAS parliament and Deputy President of the Nigerian Senate, Senator Barau Jibrin, in his speech at the session’s opening, stressed the importance of the protocols in facilitating the work of the parliament.
Jibrin said: “This Extraordinary Session is unique on several counts. During this session, we are expected to hold deliberations and adopt three very important instruments which bear heavily on the progress and effective implementation of our mandate. They are The Rules of Procedure of the Sixth Legislature, which was deferred from our inaugural session—the Strategic Plan of the Sixth Legislature and 2024 Annual Work Plan.
“You would agree with me that our Rules of Procedure are very important as they make us more efficient and serve as our guide, thereby reducing the chances of our actions and decisions being challenged for procedural deficiencies.
The Strategic Plan, on the other hand, will serve as a crucial and indispensable tool in ensuring that our programs and activities are directly linked with the overall strategic institutional objectives of ECOWAS, while our Work Plan will set the agenda for our engagements this year,” he said.
He concluded that the adoption of these instruments, the stage for the full commencement of parliamentary activities by the community parliament is now set.
