ECOWAS Parliament: New speaker to emerge in Kano

The ECOWAS Parliament is set to elect a new speaker for its 6th legislature in the upcoming days.

This election will take place during the 2024 second extraordinary session in Kano State, Nigeria.

According to the legislature's protocols, the speaker's position is assigned to Togo based on a rotational system following alphabetical order.

However, due to political issues in Togo, their delegation was absent during the inauguration of the 6th Legislature in Abuja on April 4, 2024.

The Togolese delegation is now expected to be inaugurated, and the new speaker will be elected and sworn in before the extraordinary session ends on May 21, 2024.

This follows the recent parliamentary elections in Togo and the submission of the representatives' names to the Community Parliament.

In the interim, Nigerian Deputy Senate President Jibrin Barau, the first Deputy Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament, has been serving as the acting speaker of the 6th legislature until the Togolese delegation is officially inaugurated.

Why parliamentary session was moved to Kano

In preparation for the Extraordinary Session, the Community Parliament held a virtual Bureau meeting, followed by a Conference of Bureau meeting with committee chairpersons and rapporteurs.

They discussed the annual work plan, which will be presented to the plenary for discussion and adoption.

Speaking to journalists after the sessions, the Acting Speaker and First Deputy Speaker of the Parliament, Senator Jibrin Barau, explained that the extraordinary session was held in Kano to bring the community parliament closer to the grassroots, allowing the community to feel its impact.

Senator Barau, Nigeria's Deputy Senate President, emphasised the importance of the Parliament understanding the needs of the grassroots citizens and vice versa.

He said, "Tomorrow, Tuesday, is going to be the session that will implore all the parliamentarians and, of course, the invited guest that will be here with us tomorrow, and what we had today is the Bureau meeting - between the leadership of the Parliament and the committee chairmen and other principal officers of the parliament."

He mentioned that a session will be held tomorrow for all the parliamentarians, with VIPs invited to attend and observe the general meeting.

Senator Barau Jibrin revealed that representatives from Togo are expected to attend a session later in the week and are anticipated to be sworn in on Thursday, May 23.