NIGERIAN NEWS BLOGGERS

  The group was reacting to the president’s appointment of new service chiefs – Lucky Irabor, chief of defence staff; Ibrahim Attahiru, chief of army staff; Awwal Gambo, chief of naval staff, and Isiaka Amao, chief of air staff, on Tuesday In a statement by its President-General, Onuorah Onyeachonam, yesterday, the group said President Buhari excluded Igbo from the appointments and urged him to appoint the most senior Igbo in the force as IGP. "There is no Igbo man among the newly appointed service chiefs. Those who claim that the newly appointed Chief of Defence Staff, Maj Gen Leo Irabor is an Igbo man should tell us if Irabor is an Igbo name,” he said.  "As the Inspector General of Police is due for retirement and fast getting ready to exit the police apex position, we call on the APC- led Federal Government to consider an Igbo man for the position of the Inspector General of Police. If there is no Igbo man or woman qualified for the job of the IGP, promote the Igbo next in

  The Ad-hoc committee in charge of the election of Members of the ECOWAS Parliament through direct universal suffrage has presented recommendations to the Plenary for the consideration. The Parliament seating for its Virtual 2020 Second Ordinary Session held in 2021, received this recommendation in a report presented by the Ad-hoc Committee which was signed by the Deputy Speaker of the Nigeria House of Representative Rt. Hon. Idris Wase, who doubles as the 1 st Deputy speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament, and chair of the Ad-hoc committee. The report recalled that the Election of Members by direct universal suffrage was part of the new mandate conferred on the Parliament by the adoption of the Supplementary Act enhancing the powers of the Parliament, and this has overtime been omitted. Highlights of the recommendation includes that “Parliament should endeavor to achieve the election of Members to the ECOWAS Parliament by direct universal suffrage before the end of the 5 th Legis

  The ECOWAS Parliament is one institution of the Community that is representative of the entire population with its core mandate being to give a voice to the people within the integration process. The Protocol relating to the establishment of ECOWAS Parliament was signed in Abuja on 6th August, 1994 and entered into force in 14th March, 2002.  In 2016, at the 50 th Session of the Authority of Heads of State and Government, a Supplementary Act was passed to enhance the power of Parliament. The ECOWAS Parliament is currently a non-legislative assembly that issues advisory opinions to the Authority of Heads of State and Government and the Council of Ministers as well as other ECOWAS Institutions and Agencies. The ECOWAS Parliament has so far, ended Four Legislatures, within a period spanning from 2000 to February 2020. She is currently in her Fifth Legislature which commenced March 2020. T he Parliament is composed of one hundred and fifteen (115) seats, with a mandatory five seats

The ECOWAS Parliament seated for it virtual 2020 Second Ordinary Session is set to consider the 2021 Community’s Budget. Hon. Sidie Tunis, Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament in his opening remark disclosed that this session, otherwise known as the “Budget Session”, provides the opportunity, in accordance with provisions of the Supplementary Act, for Parliament to consider the Community’s Budget which specifically is expected to ensure that the estimates are directed towards programs that addresses the needs of the people. Speaker Tunis said “ I make specific reference to Article 17.2a, which states that “after the consideration of the Budget by the Administration and Finance Committee (AFC), the report of the AFC on the Budget shall be presented to Parliament during the Parliamentary Budget Session; “In fulfillment of this statutory responsibility, we are expected to render opinion, including where necessary, proposals for the amendment to the draft Community Budget”. Continuing,

  Following the initial disruptions on the conduct of Court sessions by the outbreak of the pandemic in early 2020 which affected sixty cases which had been scheduled for both hearing and judgment, the ECOWAS Court of Justice has invested USD 345,126 on IT infrastructure to facilitate virtual court sessions. Addressing Parliamentarians in a goodwill message at the opening ceremony of the 2020 virtual Second Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Parliament, the President of the ECOWAS Court of Justice, Honorable Justice Edward Amoako Asante stated that “the Court realized that in a post Covid-19 world, it was imperative to migrate to the virtual technology infrastructure in order to continue to discharge its role.   Consequently, it had to invest a significant portion of its resources in virtual technology with the first virtual session of the Court held on Monday, 22nd June 2020. He said, “As part of the process for deploying the virtual technology, the Court had to align its Practice

  Hon Sidie Tunis (Speaker ECOWAS PARLIAMENT)   Six new Parliamentarians across Liberia and the Republic of Guinea has been  sworn  into the ECOWAS Parliament seating for its Second ordinary Session, held virtually.   The newly  sworn - in  Members of Parliament are Hon. Jonathan Lambort Kaipay ( Liberia) , Hon. Souleymane Keita ( Guinea ), Hon. Ramatoulaye Labbo Diallo ( Guinea ), Hon. Bandian Neiba Conde ( Guinea ), Hon. Aboubacar Soumah ( Guinea ) and Hon Boubacar Diallo ( Guinea ) respectively.   Welcoming the newly  sworn - in  MPs into the Parliament, Hon. Sidie Tunis, Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament, urged the newly sworn in to emulate the track records of the outgone members of whom they are replacing and also challenged them to defend and represent the Community Parliament whom they’ve been called to serve.