By Linus Aleke, Abuja
The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt Hon Tajudeen Abbas, yesterday said, terrorism, banditry, piracy, human trafficking, human rights abuses, the impact of climate change and bad governance have remained serious impediments to the peace, security and economic development of West African sub-region.
Abbas, itemised these impediment to peace and development in West Africa, during the official opening of the the 2024 first ordinary session of the ECOWAS Parliament taking place in Abuja, Nigeria.
While delivering a goodwill message at the sub regional event, the Speaker said these challenges have placed greater responsibility on the ECOWAS Parliament to continue to carry out its legislative functions with increased vigour, passion and commitment.
Represented by Deputy Speaker, Benjamin Kalu, the Speaker said: “It is my sincere hope that this session of the parliament will produce resolutions that will impact positively and go a long way in mitigating these challenges.
However, it is important to stress that any resolutions reached will amount to nothing if there is no commitment and cooperation on the part of ECOWAS member states”.
He however said, the current challenges confronting the sub-region cannot be decisively addressed, unless there is unity of purpose, partnership and cooperation in decisions and actions.
Abbas assured the ECOWAS Parliament that Nigeria under the leadership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, is committed to defending and promoting democratic governance, the rule of law and human rights in the sub-region.
To this end, he said, the Nigerian Parliament is committed to support the President through legislative measures that will provide a robust framework for Nigeria’s foreign policy, strengthening of diplomatic relations, promoting economic interests, enhancing security cooperation, and promoting regional and global peace.
He further assured the Parliament that the Nigerian Parliament shall continue to cooperate and partner with the it in the areas of building legislative capacity, sharing of experiences and ensuring that resolutions passed are implemented.
“In doing this, we shall take advantage of Nigeria’s strong representation in the ECOWAS Parliament to push for debates and resolutions that will be of immense political, economic and social benefits to our sub-region. Thankfully, West Africa is hugely endowed with human and material resources that can transform the sub-region into a model for democracy, economic prosperity, peace and political stability. Let us work together to ensure that this noble goal is achieved,” he charged them.
He also said that since its establishment by the ECOWAS Treaty in 1975, the ECOWAS Parliament has no doubt contributed immensely to strengthening representative democracy, promoting and defending human rights, democracy, the rule of law, transparency, accountability and good governance in the sub-region.
Earlier in her remark, the Speaker of ECOWAS Parliament, Rt. Hon. Hadja Memounatou Ibrahima, recalled that
at the second extraordinary session in Kano, the Parliament considered and adopted the fundamental texts, which are key to the functioning of the Community Parliament, namely the Rules of Procedure, the Strategic Plan of the 6th Legislature and the 2024 Activity Plan.
Ibrahima further recalled that in her inaugural speech on 23 May 2024 in Kano, she made mention of various political, economic and security crises in several Member States of the Community, which the 6th Legislature must urgently help to address.
“These include the desire expressed by three of our Member States to withdraw from the Community, as well as the growing tensions between the Republics of Benin and Niger, not to mention other constant concerns in the region, such as terrorism, food insecurity, irregular migration and the adverse effects of climate change. Discussions on these various issues led to the adoption by Parliament of what is known as the “Kano Declaration”. Specifically, by means of this declaration, we have resolved, among other things, to: set up an Ad hoc mediation committee to initiate and maintain not only dialogue with the authorities of these different countries, but also communication among our various populations, conduct field visits to understand and help settle disagreements between the two friendly and sister nations, Benin and Niger,” she said.
The Speaker urged the ECOWAS Commission, to expedite the implementation of the joint defence strategy to fight terrorism and violent extremism in West Africa.
