Jibrin Barau, The Deputy President Of The Senate, Is The New Acting Speaker Of The ECOWAS Parliament

Senator Jibrin Barau

AS the interim Speaker of the Sixth Legislature of the Parliament of the Economic Community of West African States, or ECOWAS, Nigeria's deputy Senate President, Jibrin Barau, has assumed the role.

Recall that the sixth Legislature of the Parliament was proclaimed by President Bola Tinubu.

In his capacity as the current Chairman of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government, Tinubu carried out this responsibility on Thursday, April 4.

Leading the Nigerian delegation to the ECOWAS Parliament, Barau took the oath of office as acting Speaker during the assembly's first meeting, which took place in Abuja on Thursday, April 4.

Awaji-Inombek Abiante, the first Deputy Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament, proposed him, and Senator Ireti Kingibe seconded the nomination.

As per the rotational method instituted by the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government through Decision A/DEC. 6/06/06, the Republic of Togo was assigned the Speakership of the Sixth Legislature of the West African bloc.

Read Also: Tinubu Calls On ECOWAS Nations To Unite Against Divisive Forces

However, the Republic of Togo's delegation was not present for the Sixth Legislature of the ECOWAS's inauguration, so Edwin Snowe, a Liberian, was elected Speaker Pro tempore.

Snowe chaired the first meeting of the Parliament, which included choosing the four deputy speakers.

He noted that until the Togolese delegation is sworn in, Barau, the first Deputy Speaker, will preside over the Parliament as Speaker in order to avoid creating a void.

The second Deputy Speaker was Adjaratou Traore Coulibaly from Côte D'Ivoire; the third Deputy Speaker was Alexander Kwamena Afenyo-Markin from Ghana; and the fourth Deputy Speaker was Billay G. Tunkara from Gambia.

Members of the Sixth Legislature of the ECOWAS were sworn in, including legislators from Nigeria, the Benin Republic, Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, Cote D'Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Senegal, and Sierra Leone.

Among the organizations of the ECOWAS is the Parliament, sometimes referred to as the Community Parliament.

It is the Assembly of Peoples of the Community, which acts as a platform for representatives of West African people to engage in discourse, consultation, and consensus building in order to advance integration.