Speaker of the Parliament of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS Parliament), Memounatou Ibrahima, has called for speedy reforms in the West African regional bloc to towards ending the crises in the region.
The speaker made the call during the 2024 Third Extra-Ordinary Session and Second Parliamentary Seminar of the regional legislature, in Lome, Togo. According to her, one of the main areas of focus for the session is budgetary provisions to finance efforts to address the problems within the sub region.
“Our region is ravaged by floods, terrorism, violent extremism and irregular migration that have affected thousands of our citizens. ECOWAS of 50 years must speed up reforms to consolidate the principles of democracy and good governance to drive the vision of the founding fathers,” she said.
She commended the President of Togo, Faure Gnassingbe, for his unwavering support for regional integration and women empowerment, noting that her ascension as the first female speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament was a testament to the Togolese leader’s promotion of female competences at all levels.
The speaker said the session would afford the regional legislature the opportunity to consider and adopt its budget of 2025-2027 to give it a clear-cut financial roadmap to come out with “pragmatic measures to address these challenges for the peace, stability, solidarity and progress of West Africa”.
ECOWAS will mark its 50th anniversary in 2025. As a bloc it was formed on May 28, 1975 in Lagos, Nigeria to promote economic cooperation among member states to raise living standards and promote economic development.
ECOWAS Parliament noted that it had also worked to address some security issues by developing a peacekeeping force for conflicts in the region. West Africa, in recent times, had been faced with enormous economic and security challenges, including the vexed issue of the irregular migration of its youths away from the region in search of better opportunities often at great risks to their lives across the deserts of North Africa and the deadly Mediterranean Sea.
President of the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID), Dr George Agyekum Donkor, said it was imperative to strengthen infrastructure and investment priorities in West Africa to unlock the opportunities in the region and make the economies of member countries more competitive even as he called for equitable distribution of economic opportunities for all citizens.
Represented by the Director, Department of Research and Strategic Planning, MacDonald Saye Goanue, the EBID president said the ECOWAS Parliament was a vital institution to facilitate dialogue, promote peace and stability towards achieving the objectives of the region.
The Togolese Minister of Human Rights, Citizenship Training and Relations with the Institutions of the Republic of Togo, Barrister Pacome Yawovi Missiame Amenyo Adjourouvi, decried the human rights situation in the region.