Saraki wants more powers for ECOWAS Parliament

Senate President, Bukola Saraki, on Monday called for more powers for the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Parliament, if the aim of the sub region to achieve full integration is to be realized.

Saraki made the call in his speech at the opening of the First Ordinary Session of the Parliament in Abuja, according to a statement by the Chief Press Secretary to the Senate President, Sanni Onogu, in Abuja.

The Senate President said that even though the ECOWAS parliament is evolving in the right direction, it was his fervent hope that members of the sub region will begin to invest in it, more responsibility and opportunity as a sure path to creating the right structure for closer integration of the sub-region.

Saraki said: “The ECOWAS sub-region has come a long way in pursuit of integration and development. However, what is clear today is that we need to do more. Other regional bodies including those who we inspired have moved faster towards integration than we have.

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“Sadly, this has been due to our inability to add to the institutional building blocks and muster the courage to reorder our structures for the vision of a virile and integrated ECOWAS.

“The ECOWAS Parliament remains a critical place to start. We must as a necessity, give the parliament greater authorization and capacity to duly legislate on common areas and provide oversight on certain issues of common interest and interdependency.”

While saying that the policy on free movement of goods and persons is beginning to bear significant fruits across the length and breath of the region, he lamented that “very little is being done to provide the right legal and institutional inter-ECOWAS-states frameworks that would guarantee and insulate these enterprising citizens from discriminatory practices, anti competition, human rights abuse and the possibility of host bias in the treatment of conflicts arising from their cross-border enterprise.

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