Skip to main content

ECOWAS Parliament in focus

 



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 50th 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.

The Parliament is composed of one hundred and fifteen (115) seats, with a mandatory five seats allotted to Members States, and the remaining shared on the basis of the population. Consequently, Nigeria has the highest seats in Parliament with 35 seats, followed by Ghana, 8 seats, Cote d’Ivoire, 7 seats, Burkina Faso 6 seats, Guinea 6 seats, Mali 6 seats, Niger 6 seats, Senegal 6 seats, Sierra Leone 5 seats, Liberia 5 seats, Guinea Bissau 5 seats, Benin 5 seats, Cape Verde 5 seats, Gambia 5 seats and Togo 5 seats.

ECOWAS Parliament has two organs: The Political and the Administrative organs. The political arm comprises The Plenary, The Bureau, Conference of Bureaux, 13-Standing Committees. 

The Administrative arm consists of departments, divisions and units that make up the general secretariat, which is headed by the Secretary General.


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Abuja Bank Robbery: Police Arrest Alleged Mastermind source: Channels The Federal Capital Territory Police Command has arrested the mastermind of the foiled robbery of a first-generation ba nk in the Mpape area of Abuja last Saturday. The suspect, a barman identified as Ernest was nabbed at his hideout by police detectives and is presently being held at the command headquarters by old CBN building, Garki, Abuja. The police had earlier arrested four suspects and gunned down the fourth member of the robbery gang identified as Patrick during the operation. The FCT Commissioner of Police, Bala Ciroma, had on Tuesday paraded the gang members including a bank employee, Larry Ehizo, 30, Timothy Joe, 21, Princewill Obinna, 24 and Elijah David, 19. Ehizo who allegedly drove the gang members to the bank claimed he was blackmailed by Ernest to carry out the heist. Narrating how the failed heist was executed, David said Ehizo informed the gang members that the r...
Nigerian senator dies in UK A senator representing Cross River North, Rose Oko, is dead. The 63-year-old senator died on Monday night at a United Kingdom (UK) medical facility where she had been receiving treatment in the last one month. Oko was a member of the House of Representatives representing Yala/Ogoja Federal Constituency during the 7th National Assembly. Senator Oko was elected into office as the first female representative from her constituency in June 2011, and is currently in her second-term member of the upper chamber and served as the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Trade and Investment. Her death comes about six weeks after Plateau senator, Ignatius Longjan, passed on and three months after Imo senator, Ben Uwajumogwu, died.

ECOWAS Parliament bemoan low remittance of Community Levy

ECOWAS Parliament bemoan low remittance of Community Levy The Legislative arm of the Economic Community Of West African State (ECOWAS Parliament) has lamented low remittance of Community Levy by member states. Speaker of The ECOWAS Parliament, Rt Hon Sidie Mohammed Tunis said the levy is meant to mobilize the funds required for the accomplishment of the missions of the parliament and other ECOWAS Institutions. He explained that the 0.5% levy, imposed on goods from non-ECOWAS Member States, is intended to cater for around 80% of the Community’s budget revenue. Speaker Tunis expressed his displeasure on Tuesday in Freetown, during the ECOWAS Parliament’s Seminar with the theme, "Involvement of Members of the ECOWAS Parliament in Monitoring the application of the Protocol relating to the Community Levy”. He said: "The theme to which we are invited today, as you have noted, hinges on the implementation of the Protocol relating to the Community Levy. "In this regard...