Senate President Bukola Saraki has urged West African governments to work together to find common solutions to address challenges facing the sub-region.
Saraki said this at the opening of the Second Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Parliament in Abuja on Tuesday.
The senate president, who was represented by Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu, called on the parliament to maximise its enhanced mandate to resolving challenges in line with the ECOWAS Vision 2020.
“Hunger and famine, terrorism and insecurity, environmental degradation, displacement and humanitarian crises these are some of the challenges we face in the sub-region.
“l urge you to seize the opportunity of the newly acquired, and hard won, legislative powers of this assembly to defeat forces that militate against the peace and development of West Africa.
“Let us never lose sight of the need to find African solutions to African problems.
“The sooner we can deliver the Vision 2020 that will birth an ‘ECOWAS of the People’, the sooner we will restore hope to the West African citizenry.”
Saraki further assured of Nigeria’s continued contribution to ensuring sustained development in West Africa.
“Already, we are looking to amend the necessary laws that will smooth the path to elections of Nigeria’s 35 representatives in the Community Parliament. ‘’
In his address, Speaker of the parliament, Moustapha Cissé Lo said that the parliament was committed to sensitising citizens to the mandate of the sub-regional bloc.
“This present session is devoted to this responsibility since it will be dedicated for the first time to the consideration of the Community Budget, one of the most prestigious parliamentary powers.”
He also added that the first extraordinary session of the parliament holding in Senegal in February would address the issues of migration and the free movement of persons within the sub-region.