Akpabio commends ECOWAS Parliament’s Speaker for enhancing cooperation with national parliaments

By Iyojo Ameh

President of the Nigerian Senate, Godswill Obot Akpabio, has commended the Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament, Hadja Memounatou Ibrahima, for her untiring efforts at repositioning the subregional parliament by enhancing cooperation with national parliaments.

Senator Akpabio noted that since assuming the parliament’s speakership, she has deployed enormous parliamentary diplomacy to bear not only on the level of cooperation with institutions in the region but also on those that have expressed the wish to quit the regional block.

Senator Akpabio stated this when the Speaker led a delegation of the ECOWAS Parliament on a working visit to the National Assembly on Wednesday.

The Deputy President of the Senate and First Deputy Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament, Senator Barau I. Jibrin, received the delegation on behalf of the President of the Senate.

“Since she was elected the Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament, she has been up and doing in terms of giving leadership to the parliament. It is in that regard that she is here trying to chart a better course for the parliament to make sure that she brings parliamentary diplomacy to bear in terms of our cooperation not only with those who are within the community as we speak but also even those who are attempting to leave the community.

“It is in that respect that she is here, and what she is doing is commendable. She has come to strengthen her idea and initiative of making the parliament stronger and more effective,” he said.

Earlier, the Speaker said the delegation had engaged the Senate leadership on the socio-political situation in the community and also discussed how parliamentarians can contribute more to the various issues and come up with solutions to the challenges facing the subregion.