Deputy President of the Nigerian Senate, Jibrin Barau, emerged on Thursday as acting Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament.
He emerged at the inaugural session of the Sixth Legislature of the Parliament of the Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS, which took place at the International Conference Centre, Abuja.
During the session, he was first nominated as the 1st Deputy Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament by Rep Awaji-Inombek D. Abiante and seconded by Senator Ireti Kingibe.
In accordance with the rotational system established by Decision A/DEC. 6/06/06 of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government, the speakership of the sixth legislature of the sub-regional body has been zoned to the Republic of Togo.
However, during the inauguration of the Sixth Legislature of the ECOWAS, the Republic of Togo delegation was not present; hence, Edwin Melvin Snowe Jr., a Liberian, was elected Speaker Pro-Tempore.
Snowe Jr. presided over the inaugural session of the parliament, including the election of the four deputy speakers. He said that in order not to create a vacuum, Senator Barau, as the 1st Deputy Speaker, will act as the Speaker of Parliament pending when the Togolese delegation is inaugurated.
Honourable Adjaratou Traore Coulibaly (Cote’d’Ivoire) emerged as 2nd Deputy Speaker; Honourable Alexander Kwamena Afenyo-Markin (Ghana) was elected 3rd Deputy Speaker; and Honourable Billay G. Tunkara (Gambia) emerged as 4th Deputy Speaker.
The opening ceremony was attended by the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the Chairman of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government, His Excellency Bola Tinubu.
In his speech, President Tinubu called on ECOWAS member states to unite, strengthen ties, and reject forces bent on causing division within the community.
He said regional solidarity is imperative to strengthen the bloc’s resilience and effectiveness at this critical juncture.
Lawmakers from Nigeria, Benin Republic, Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, Cote d’Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Senegal and Sierra Leone were inaugurated as members of the Sixth Legislature of the ECOWAS.
The ECOWAS Parliament, also known as the Community Parliament, is one of the institutions of ECOWAS. It is the Assembly of Peoples of the Community, serving as a forum of dialogue, consultation and consensus for representatives of the people of West Africa to promote integration.
The ECOWAS Parliament, which was established under articles 6 and 13 of the ECOWAS Revised Treaty of 1993, is composed of 115 seats.
