NIGERIAN NEWS BLOGGERS

The Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament said the scandal on the alleged marginalization of the Nigerian candidates in the Parliament’s recruitment process as raised by the Nigerian delegation to the ECOWAS Parliament during its 2022 First Ordinary Session in Abuja is misleading as the country has five out of the current ten slots. Rt. Hon. Sidie Mohamed Tunis in a press conference held at the closing of the Parliament Second Extraordinary Session in Lome said the Recruitment process was transparent and free from all forms of manipulations. He said “ Gentlemen of the Press, again I want to welcome you to this very short host session, Press briefing, I want to thank you for coming in the first place and just to share with you may be the outcome of the Session itself. “you will recall that in the last Session in Abuja, Honourable Members raised the issue of recruitment in the ECOWAS Parliament, in fact, the impression at that time was that there were a lot of Malpractices regarding

Ifeanyi Valentine, Frederick Idehai, Lome Hell was let loose at the Plenary session of the 2nd Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Parliament, in Lome capital of Togo when Parliamentarians engaged in a rowdy session as a result of dissatisfaction over the handling of the issue of illegal recruitment by the hierarchy of the Parliament. The Members of Parliament accused the Speaker and his Bureau of allowing illegality to thrive under their watch. Leading the fireworks by the Parliamentarians who felt undermined by the Speaker and his Bureau for clandestinely recruiting despite the decision of the plenary to suspend the process as well as instituting an ad-hoc committee with no recourse to the plenary were two Nigerian delegations, Hon. Awaji Abiante and Sen. Smart Adeyemi. Hon. Abiante who moved a point of order said that the report of the Ad-hoc Committee as set up by the Bureau was given the mandate to work without recourse to its adoption by the Plenary as such was illegal in its en

President calls for commitment towards peace and security in sub-region The President of the Republic of Togo H. E. Faure Gnassingbe has stressed on the need for a common commitment towards working together in achieving peace and Security in the West African sub-region. According to him there are a number of challenges affecting the sub-region, hence encouraging cooperation to drive acceptable solutions for West Africa. He made this remarks on Thursday, October 6, 2022 following a courtesy visit of the Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament Rt. Hon Dr Sidie Mohamed Tunis in Lome where the second Extraordinary Session of the parliament is being hosted. During their meeting, the Honorable Speaker took note of the good relations between the ECOWAS Parliament and the Republic of Togo, and the prospects for their further consolidation. Dr. Tunis then lauded His Excellency Gnassingbe for the important role he is playing to promote peace, security and development in West Africa and his in

Ifeanyi Valentine, Frederick Idehai, Lome A Nigerian Parliamentarian at the ongoing Extra-Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Parliament in Lome, Togo, Hon. Chukwuma Umeoji has expressed dismay over the high level extortion and corruption across the sub-region while scrutinising the COVID-19 status of traveller at entry points. He said though, the scrutiny which is not only for Parliamentarians but for the entire ECOWAS citizens is appalling and disgusting as people are delayed unnecessarily despite presenting their certificates of immunization and other requirements. "That type of scrutiny is a hindrance to the spirit of ECOWAS which involves free movement of goods and services(Persons). "When you have such delay, it is discouraging even for foreign investors to think about coming to West Africa . So, we have to look into it. "In some instances, you are made to part with five or ten dollars before you are attended to or delayed unnecessarily. "This is the corru

As members of the Economic Community of West African State Parliament frown at the ongoing Coup d’etat in three of its member state which has led to the dissolution of its participation in the Parliament Activities, An Honourable member from the Gambia delegation to the ECOWAS Parliament Hon. Billay Tunkara has opined that a direct election of the membership to the ECOWAS Parliament will serve as a working strategy to protect Parliamentarians from being disengaged during a coup. Speaking on the floor of the Parliament's Parliamentary seminar held in Lome, Togo, Hon. Tunkara stated that Coup in the region is becoming unbearable, adding that as soon as there is a Coup the affected country is been barred from participating in the activities of the ECOWAS Parliament, which according to him does not help in addressing situations. Tunkara said “To end the menace of disengagement of Members, ECOWAS must be serious to evolve from National Parliament representation to direct election

A Nigerian Legislator, Sen. Smart Adeyemi has called on Lawmakers from the Fifteen Member States of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to ensure that resolutions adopted at the Parliament sessions are implemented meticulously in their National Parliament. He made the call while speaking to journalists at the venue of the Parliamentary Seminar in Lome, Togo, with the theme: Application of the Supplementary Act on The Enhancement of The Powers of The Parliament in Light of The Restructuring of The ECOWAS Commission. Sen. Adeyemi observed that over time, most resolutions adopted by the Parliament are yet to be implemented by the member state, hence the Impact of the Parliament is not felt across the region, nor does it contribute to the advancement of the Parliament. “I do know that as a serving senator, there are International conventions which must be domicile in respective states and Nations before they can be taken as Laws, in essence, most of the inte

A member of the Nigerian Senate delegated to the ECOWAS Parliament, Sen. Biodun Olujimi has called on Parliamentarians of the Economic Community of West African States to set aside their different groupings that lead to unhealthy competition and suspicions currently bedeviling the Parliament. Speaking at the sidelines of the ECOWAS Parliament’s Parliamentary Seminar which focused on the Application of the Supplementary Act on The Enhancement of The Powers of The Parliament in Light of The Restructuring of The ECOWAS Commission, Sen. Olujimi stated that the effect of the suspicious nature of MPs is grossly affecting the progress of the Parliament as well as its core mandate. “There is only one thing that I find that we have not spoken about in this seminar, and it is good that we are all here today, it might be offensive to some but one thing is inherently problematic among us. “As Parliamentarians, we are mutually suspicious of each other, the various countries are suspicious

...As experts charged ECOWAS Parliament on exercising its Parliamentary Powers… Some Members of the ECOWAS Parliament have harped on the encroachment of its powers by the ECOWAS Commission. The outcry was made at the Parliamentary Seminar organized by the Parliament on the Application of the Supplementary Act on the enhancement of the powers of the Parliament in light of the restructuring of the ECOWAS Commission. Proponents of this position amongst the MPs insisted it was imperative for the Parliament to start executing its powers as enshrined in its Supplementary Act which indicates the powers of the ECOWAS Parliament to include a law-making role among other functions. Speaking on the floor of the Parliament, Sen. Ali Ndume, (Nigeria) stated that it is worrisome to discuss the enhancement of Parliament’s power when these powers have been overly restricted. He said, “It is odd to discuss the powers of the parliament at this point, I think we need to look at the whole process

Ifeanyi Valentine, Frederick Idehai, Lome As Nigeria, Sierra Leone and Liberia prepare ahead of its national elections, the Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament has called for a early mechanism to address likely election issues. Dr. Sidie Tunis while addressing Parliamentarians at the opening of the ECOWAS Parliament Parliamentary Seminar with the theme “Application of the power of the Parliament in light of the restructuring of the ECOWAS Commission, holding in Lome the capital city of Togo stated that the past glory of the Parliament is being threatened by numerous crisis. Speaking, he said, “In endeavouring to boost our understanding of the institutional role and powers granted to us by the Supplementary Act, it is very important that we remain sensitive to the challenges confronting our achievements in regional integration, especially those brought upon us by the global economic crisis and internal conflicts. These include economic hardship and increase in the cost of living, cl

In line with Article 27 (2) of the Supplementary Act A/SA.1/12/16 relating to the Enhancement of Powers of the ECOWAS Parliament which provides that an Extra-Ordinary Session may hold at the initiative of either, the Chairman of Authority, Speaker, President of Commission or at the express request in writing of an absolute majority of Members to the Speaker, the ECOWAS Parliament is set to discuss approach towards the newly restructured ECOWAS Commission. This was contained in a Press Release received from the Communication Division of the ECOWAS Parliament. The Seminary is scheduled to take place from the 29th - 30th of September in Lomé, the capital city of Togo.

A professor of International Relations at Kaduna State University , Professor Usman Mohammed has called on members of Parliament of the Economic Community of West African States, to prevail on the authorities at the national levels to domesticate laws that will be useful in reducing religious intolerance in the region. He made the appeal in a paper presentation at a delocalised meeting of the ECOWAS Parliament on committees on Education, Science and Culture; Health as well as Telecommunications and Information Technology seating in Cabo Verde. In his paper, entitled Religious Tolerance and Stability: key factors to peace and development in the ECOWAS region, Professor Mohammed explained that due to human behaviour, it would be practically impossible to eradicate religious intolerance , hence , the need for the implementation of appropriate laws could put such tendency in check. He said although states could differ when it comes to the issue of guaranteeing equal treatment

Senator Biodun Olujimi, representing Ekiti South Senatorial District and also a member of the Economic Community of West African State (ECOWAS) Parliament, has blamed migration in the sub-region on food insufficiency. Speaking with journalist at the sidelines of the Parliament delocalized meeting of the Joint Committee on Agriculture, Environment and Natural Resources/ Infrastructure/ Energy and Mines/ Industry and Private Sector in Bissau, Capital of Guinea Bissau, Sen. Olujimi called for enough budgetary allocation to agriculture while stressing on the role and impact of sufficient food in a Nation and how it could reduce the menace of migration across the sub-region. “The youths in West Africa must know that food sufficiency is key to whatever we are doing and that is the reason why we have people migrating. When you don’t have enough to eat, your family does not have enough to eat, then there is a problem, hence migration. But if there is food sufficiency in West Africa we

Civil Society Organizations on Wednesday called on the Parliament of the Economic Community of West African States Commission (ECOWAS) to legislate policies that will improve political wills to making Agriculture more sustainable in Africa. They maintained that Agriculture is a business and there is need to grow food to feed the population. Addressing Parliamentarians at the ongoing delocalized meeting of the Joint Committee on Agriculture, Environment and Natural Resources/ Infrastructure/ Energy and Mines/ Industry and Private Sector in Bissau, the President of the Farmers Union of Liberia and 1st Vice President of the Roppa Monrovia-Liberia, Josephine George Francis said more is expected from MPs at addressing the challenges of Agriculture in the sub-region. Speaking on a topic, “Farmers Organizations Collaboration with ECOWAS for Agriculture Production, Food and Nutrition Security in Our Region, Mrs. Francis said most countries in the region have not come up to the benchmark o

The ECOWAS Parliament on Tuesday commenced a delocalized meeting of its Joint Committee on Agriculture, Environment and Natural Resources/ Infrastructure/ Energy and Mines/ Industry and Private Sector in Guinea Bissau. The Co-Chair of the Joint Committee, Hon. Samson Ahi, from Ghana in his remarks stated that the Parliament chose this focus due to the current major challenges which include: security, health, economic and climate crisis faced by the sub-region. Hon. Ahi stressed that droughts, floods and coastal erosion which are amongst the adverse effects of climate change are adversely impacting the sub-region, hence the need for immediate solutions to address them. He said “our region is dealing with both security, health, economic and climate crises. This last aspect, which is essentially linked to climate change, remains of great concern to us because the West African sub region is mainly an agricultural zone. Consequently, the hazards and adverse effects of climate chang

As the situation in Sierra Leone become worrisome, which has led to loss of lives and property, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Parliament has concluded plans to send a fact finding team to unravel the cause of the crisis and to investigate the level of damage. It could be recalled that some protesters and police officers were killed as anti-government protests in Sierra Leone turned violent. Hundreds of people took to the streets on Wednesday in a public display of anger over economic conditions in the country and to protest the perceived failure by the government to cushion the effect of rising prices. Speaking to the press in Banjul , Gambia on the sidelines of the delocalized meeting of ECOWAS Parliament, the Chairman , Political Affairs, Peace, Security and African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM), Hon. Edwin Melvin Snowe Jr said the parliament is very worried about the situation and vowed not to delay in wading into the crisis. “The situation in Sierra

ECOWAS Parliament has condemned in its strongest terms, acts of violence in Sierra Leone which led to loss of lives and destruction of properties. The Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament Dr. Sidie Mohamed Tunis made this known on Wednesday at the opening of the delocalized meeting of joint committees on Political Affairs, Peace, Security and Africa Peer Review Mechanism (APRM), Legal Affairs and Human Rights/Social Affairs, Gender and Women Empowerment in Banjul, the capital of Gambia. Speaking at the five-day meeting with the theme “Community Texts relating to Peace, Security, Democracy and Good Governance: Challenges in their Implementation and the Oversight Role of ECOWAS Parliament” Represented by the Fourth Deputy Speaker, Adja Satu Camara Pinto, Dr.Tunis call on all sides to adhere to the rule of law, which was the best path to channel and address grievances of every kind. He said, many democracies are having difficulties globally, in this present day, these failures are ofte

The Speaker of ECOWAS Parliament, Dr. Sidie Mohamed Tunis, has suspend all recruitment processess of the Parliament following recruitment scandal, and has also constituted an ad-hoc committee to investigate allegations of illegal process of recruitment in the ongoing recruitment process at the ECOWAS Parliament. The statement issued by the Communication Division of the Parliament disclosed that Speaker Tuni had received written complaints from the 1st Deputy Speaker, Honorable Ahmed Idris Wase, and the Permanent Representative of Nigeria to the ECOWAS Commission, Ambassador Musa Sani Nuhu, concerning the ongoing recruitment exercise at the ECOWAS Parliament, hence the setting of an Independent Ad Hoc Committee to investigate allegations of marginalization and malpractice against Nigerian Candidates in the ongoing recruitment process. The statement indicated that "The action of the Honorable Speaker is in conformity to Rule Thirty-three (33) and Thirty-four (34) of the Rules

Nigeria has threatened to withdraw its membership of the Economic Community of West African States, (ECOWAS) if the regional body does not suspend the ongoing recruitment exercise as recently directed in the 2022 First Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Parliament in Abuja. Nigerian representatives at the parliament of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) issued the threat when some principal officers in the regional bloc defiled the directives and embarked on the illegal process of recruiting their relatives and cronies. The lawmakers cite the huge financial commitments which Nigeria makes to the body while relegating funding its internal security challenges. They said there was no commensurate return on investment for Nigeria in ECOWAS for all the country has done and is doing for the region. This face-off is coming on the heels of recent lopsided recruitment exercise at the ECOWAS parliament which is manifestly skewed to serve the personal interest of member st

As the Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS, Parliament deliberates on issues affecting its member states, both members of the Parliament and major stakeholders have identified lack of uniformity in the International Public Sector Accounting Standard, IPSAS, as one of the major problems confronting the bloc. The challenge is evident in the lack of implementation of the IPSAS, which has led to delays in preparing financial statements and proper audit of reports within the member states. The intention for the implementation and operationalization of the IPSAS, was to change government's accounting system from cash basis to accural basis. In his presentation on "Compliance with International Public Sector Accounting Standard", before the Parliament's Committee on Public Accounts, the Deputy Director, Centre for Entrepreneurship Studies, University of Abuja, Dr James Adefiranye, said, adopting the IPSAS would greatly help ECOWAS member states move forwa

“I am humbled by the growing interest of those asking that I run for the Office of President in the 2023 general elections; I have not come to that decision. I note and salute the sacrifices of those farmers and patriots going as far as raising personal funds and offering me Presidential Nomination Forms; I thank them most profusely." *__Is that a declaration?* Emefiele did not go to court seeking to be President; rather, he went to defend the independence of the CBN as an institution and the Office of its Governor. He went to court to clarify that Section 84 (12) of the Electoral Act did not affect the office of the CBN Governor as it was not a political office and the occupant not a political appointee. Emefiele never went to court to seek clearance to contest. He has not even declared up to this point, So you cannot say he is pulling out of the Presidential race. Why does the media report falsehoods, why are many celebrating that "Emefiele Withdraws From Presidential

Court Clears Godwin Emefiele @GodwinIEmefiele to run for president. Emefiele in his suit FHC/ABJ/CS/610/2022, challenged the application of Section 84(12) of the amended Electoral Act (EA) 2022 on him, arguing that he is not a political appointee. The Court of Appeal, a superior court on Wednesday set aside Section 84(12) of the Amended Electoral Act, saying that it negates the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. By This, Meffy is clear to run. #MeffyMustRun, #EmefieleMustRun Now #EmefieleMustRun

Why are some so afraid of competence in this country? For a publication that claims to hold itself to high standards of journalism, this article stinks of sponsored journalism. If the presidency gets zoned to the south east, Nigerians will expect and deserve a pool of the brightest minds from this area so why have certain elements decided to try and wrench the right of Nigerians to choose before the race even begins. They have even chosen to go as far as name calling Programmes that are benefiting millions of Nigerians. The Anchor Borrowers Programme has almost doubled Nigeria’s rice production capacity from the less than four million metric tonnes in 2015 to 7.5 metric tonnes. Godwin Emefiele did not help navigate the COVID 19 epidemic and introduce programmes with positive impact for Nigerians in order to help a political party, he did it because he is competent and it is the right thing to do. Who stands to lose if a sound economic mind is elected into the highest political o