NIGERIAN NEWS BLOGGERS

The Speaker of ECOWAS Parliament Rt Hon Sidie Mohamed Tunis has blamed the continued underdevelopment of Africa to exclusion of women and youths in governance space in the continent. He noted that women are builders and the decision to focus on the young women is a welcome development. Hon.Tunis said this at the sideline event of the ongoing First Extraordinary Session in Sierra Leone tagged, "4th edition of the ECOFEPA Town Hall Meeting". "I would like to reiterate that one of the major reasons, Africa countries are lagging behind developmentally, compared to other continents is because women and youths have not been given their rightful places in governance," the speaker said. He added that the statistics of women and youth political representation within the ECOWAS Sub region is appallingly low, noting that, "We have to turn this tide quickly with total commitment and dedication to this noble course". He said the youths are the future...

The Community Parliament of ECOWAS, has appealed to the President of Sierra Leone, Dr. Julius Madda Bio to champion the campaign for direct universal suffrage at the level of the Authorities of Heads of States and Government of Economic Community of of West African States, (ECOWAS). The Speaker of ECOWAS Parliament, Rt Hon Sidie Mohamed Tunis made this appeal at the ongoing 2021 First Extraordinary Session of ECOWAS Parliament in Sierra Leone. Noting that the Parliament under his leadership remain committed to the call for direct election of members to the ECOWAS Parliament, Hon Tunis said that as one of the highlights of the strategic plan, "I want to reiterate that call". According to him, "I seize this opportunity to call on Your Excellency, Mr. President, to kindly grant this your unwavering support by serving as the champion of this cause at the level of the Authority of Heads of States, as its success will guarantee that the people have vested interest in ci...

From Linus Aleke, Marceline Ozekhome;Sierra Leone The Speaker of ECOWAS Parliament, Rt. Hon. Sidie Mohamed Tunis has tasked Members of Parliament to assist governmet in the sub-region to dispel the toxic conspiracy theory that limit citizens of the community from accepting the COVID-19 vaccine. He said that the discovery of the vaccine is a stunning scientific achievement, and a much-needed source of hope. The Speaker who gave this charge at the official opening of the 2021 First Extraordinary Session of ECOWAS Parliament in Freetown, said that there is the challenge of vaccine hesitancy within the population, due to conspiracy theorists. "This would require the efforts of everyone, to educate our constituents on the safety and benefits of getting vaccinated once it is available. We must continue this campaign until such a time when we would have attained Herd Immunity," he said. Hon. Tunis recalled that a year ago, the world came to its knees as a result of the...

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...

One of the daughters of the President, Zahra Buhari-Indimi, has said she did not defraud the Federal Government of Nigeria of N51bn, N2.5bn, or any amount. The President’s daughter stated this in a letter dated March 8, 2021. The letter was signed by her lawyer, Nasiru Aliyu (SAN), and addressed to online news platform, Sahara Reporters. In the letter, Buhari’s daughter accused Sahara Reporters of “injurious defamation” in a story published on March 5, 2021 titled, ‘How APC Chieftain, Danu, Custom Boss Defrauded Nigerian Government of N51bn, Wired N2.5bn To Buhari’s Daughter’. The publication had claimed that Nasiru Danu wired N2.5bn out of the said N51bn to Buhari’s daughter through her “foundation”. But in the letter written by her solicitors to Sahara Reporters, Zahra said “no any foundation owned by her was transferred or credited with such money”. The letter also stated, “Contrary to the said allegations in your (Sahara Reporters’) publications under the reference, our c...