Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu says he will support a proposal for the direct election of members into the parliament of the Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS.
Tinubu, who made the declaration on Thursday, said the move would give citizens of member states a say in who represents them.
While swearing in 97 members into the 6th ECOWAS parliament at the Abuja International Conference Centre, he said, “As a one-time legislator myself, I look forward to reviewing the proposal regarding this matter. We stand to support the direct elections into ECOWAS parliament.”
His comments came on the backdrop of the ECOWAS parliament being populated by existing lawmakers from the 15 member states.
The President said, “The practice of directly electing public officers aligns with democratic principles, principles that Nigeria upholds.
“This principle is also in line with the spirit of the ECOWAS protocol on democracy and good governance.
“We believe this will ensure that citizens will have a direct say in their representation and the legitimacy and credibility it will provide.”
He assured members of the sixth ECOWAS Parliament that Nigeria, as a host community, will continue to support.
