Tinubu advocates election into ECOWAS Parliament

President Bola Tinubu on Thursday urged the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to consider electing its members directly into the parliament.

The president made the call at the inauguration of the 6th Legislature of the ECOWAS parliament in Abuja.

He said the election of members so would give citizens of ECOWAS member states a say in who represented them.

Tinubu said: “The practice of directly electing public officers aligns with democratic 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.

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“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.”

The president assured members of the Sixth ECOWAS Parliament that Nigeria as host of the community would continue to support the Parliament to achieve its objectives.

In his goodwill message, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Amb. Yusuf Tuggar, called for collaboration among ECOWAS executive, judicial and legislative arms.

He urged the new members of Parliament to ensure that their positions on key issues were harmonised with the decisions of the Authority of ECOWAS Heads of State and Government.

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