President Bola Tinubu has vowed to back a proposal for the direct election of members into the parliament of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
Tinubu, the Chairman of ECOWAS, made the vow on Thursday when he swore in 97 members into the 6th ECOWAS parliament at the International Conference Centre in Abuja.
The Nigerian leader asserted that the direct election would give citizens of member states a chance to elect who represents them.
He assured members of the sixth ECOWAS Parliament that Nigeria, as host of the community, will continue to support them to achieve their objectives.
He said: “As a one-time legislator myself, I look forward to reviewing the proposal regarding this matter. We stand to support the direct elections into ECOWAS parliament.
“The practice of directly electing public officers aligns with democratic principles, principles that Nigeria upholds
“This principle is also in line with the spirit of the ECOWAS protocol on democracy and good governance.
“We believe this will ensure that citizens will have a direct say in their representation and the legitimacy and credibility it will provide.”
President Tinubu also appealed to Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso to reconsider their stance to exit ECOWAS, saying that their exit could spell far-reaching consequences for their citizens as well as the region.
Naija News reports that the ECOWAS Parliament, also known as the Community Parliament, was established under Articles 6 and 13 of the ECOWAS Revised Treaty of 1993.
The parliament is composed of 115 seats. Each member state has a guaranteed minimum of five seats while the remaining 40 seats are shared based on population.
However, only 97 members, comprising lawmakers from various member states, were sworn in Thursday.
They include 35 members from Nigeria and five each from Benin Republic, Cabo Verde, The Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Sierra Leon, and Togo.
Others include eight members from Ghana, seven from Cote d’Ivoire and six each from Senegal and Guinea.
Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso have no representatives in the sixth parliament as these states had expressed their intention to exit the bloc.
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