By Linus Aleke, Abuja
The Speaker of ECOWAS Parliament, Rt. Hon. Maimounatou Ibrahima, has promised to prioritize regional integration and gender mainstreaming, in her activities to move the community to the next level.
Hon. Ibrahima, also called on the Parliament and other ECOWAS institutions to initiate policies that promote and enhance the status of women in the region.
Ibrahima, who was elected the Speaker of the sixth ECOWAS Parliament, last month, at the Second Extraordinary Session of the Parliament in Kano, is the first female to occupy the exulted office, since the birth of the sub regional legislature.
The Togolese born Speaker, who officially assumed duty yesterday in Abuja, also embarked on immediate familiarization tour of the Parliament where she held interactive session with the principal officers led by Secretary General of the ECOWAS Parliament, Mr. Bertin Some, who briefed her on developments in the Parliament.
The Speaker, also visited the President of ECOWAS Commission, Dr. Omar Alieu Touray, in his office in Abuja, where she reiterated her decision to build capacity of women in West Africa.
She said: “This is the first time a woman will be the Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament. This is going to be an inspiration for other women to aspire to achieve higher goals. We have ECOFEPA which is an association of ECOWAS Female Parliamentarians, that is used to help women. We are also going strengthen the area of capacity building for women so that they can also move higher and higher”.
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The Speaker, also applauded Togolese President, Mr. Faure Gnassingbe, who facilitated her appointment as ECOWAS Speaker.
She called on world leaders to direct policies towards making more women occupy sensitive positions in order to contribute their quota to economic and political development of the globe.
Hon. Ibrahima, also pledged to collaborate with other ECOWAS institutions to address the challenges of insecurity, political and economic crises ravaging the region as well as work arduously to promote regional integration, economic development among others.
