The ECOWAS Parliament has said that the adoption of the Supplementary Act on the enhancement of its legislative powers now makes its views “binding, compulsory and taken into consideration by the sub-region”.
Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament, Moustapha Cissé Lô, Cissé Lô said this at the opening of the first Extraordinary Session of the ECOWAS Parliament in Abuja on Friday.
Cissé Lô said that the adoption of the Supplementary Act by the Authority of the ECOWAS Heads of State and Government in Dec. 2016 gave more functions to the parliament.
“Up till the time that the act was adopted, they (Heads of State) were not asking for our views; by now the views of the parliament are now binding, compulsory and it is taken into consideration.
“Now they cannot work without requesting for the view of the parliament; the parliament will now be invited to take part in the meeting of the Security Council that initially it could not do.
“There is a legal affairs committee that will bring out the issues, so that we will able to delegate validly on the nitty-gritty.
“Furthermore, we are going to work on the other aspects so that we can be the parliament that we are expected to be,” he said.
The speaker recalled that the members of parliament had in the past worked on the prerogatives of the parliament which did not yield result.
He further said the signing of the act would give the parliament more rights and recognition.
He added that the ongoing session would make recommendations which would be referred to the Committee on Legal and Judicial Affairs to determine the implications and necessary steps for its effective implementation.
“Legally, the Supplementary Act is an instrument which completes the ECOWAS revised Treaty and it enters into force from the date of its signature.
“Therefore, we have to act fast in order to give full effect to this Act,” he added.
President of the ECOWAS Commission,Mr Marcel de Souza said that enhancement of powers of the parliament was a great achievement for the sub-region and would facilitate the realisation of the ECOWAS Vision 2020.
De Souza, who was represented by Mr Edward Singhatey, Vice President of the commission, said the parliament would now be more engaged in the activities of the sub-region.
“Now the Act enhances the power of the parliament to give them oversight responsibilities of certain aspects of the community’s activities.
“They are more involved in human rights issues, issues of amending the protocols and regulations of the community, and they have an opinion that they can give on the budget of the community,” he said.
The parliament was established under the ECOWAS Revised Treaty of 1993, and the protocol relating to the parliament was signed in 1994 and entered into force in 2002.
The parliament is composed of 115 seats; each of the 15 member states has a guaranteed minimum of five seats.
The remaining seats are shared on the basis of population.
Nigeria has 35 seats, Ghana eight seats, Cote d’Ivoire seven seats, while Burkina Faso, Guinea, Mali, Niger and Senegal have 6 seats each.
Benin, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Togo have 5 seats each. (NAN)