ECOWAS Speaker Decries Rising Terrorism, Organised Crime in West Africa
Speaker of ECOWAS Parliament, Hadja Mémounatou Ibrahima, decried the increasing threat of terrorism, violent extremism and organised crimes in the West African sub-region.
Speaking during the 2024 First Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Parliament in Abuja, Ibrahima said the session was taking place in a difficult international context for the entire planet earth.
She stated that as the world had barely emerged from pandemics and epidemics, although not fully, it was still grappling with a number of scourges and challenges, such as poverty, climate change, the Russian-Ukrainian crisis, and the conflict in the Middle East, to name a few.
Ibrahima said, “Unfortunately, the problems are compounded by another phenomenon of staggering proportions in the region, namely, the upsurge in the threat of terrorism, violent extremism and organised crime, which is costing the lives of our valiant defence and security forces, as well as thousands of innocent people.”
She explained that there were various political, economic and security crises in several member states, which the sixth legislature must urgently help to address.
“These include the desire expressed by three of our member states to withdraw from the community, as well as the growing tensions between the Republics of Benin and Niger, not to mention other constant concerns in the region, such as terrorism, food insecurity, irregular migration, and the adverse effects of climate change,” she said.
President of ECOWAS Commission, Omar Touray, said beside the many threats related to peace and security, as well as challenges related to poverty, the West African sub-region was also facing the risks of disintegration.
Touray said, “As you all know, on January 29th, Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger notified the commission of their intention to leave ECOWAS with immediate effect.
“Our people – the people of West Africa – have lived within an integrated ECOWAS community for several decades.
“Populations have benefited from freedom of movement within our ECOWAS space and have begun to perceive the advantages of our common market, where local products are traded freely in a market of over 400 million inhabitants.
“In addition, the use of a common passport and a common biometric identity card for travel within our community space has been introduced.
“Given these advantages, it is clear that disintegration will not only disrupt the freedom of movement and establishment of people, but it will also aggravate insecurity in the region.
“More specifically, the withdrawal of the three aforementioned countries will deal a severe blow to security cooperation, particularly, in terms of intelligence sharing and participation in the fight against regional terrorism and other joint security initiatives.”
Touray said the three countries’ withdraw would adversely affect “the operationalisation of the ECOWAS standby force that our member states’ defense ministers have just agreed to activate, as well as the Accra Initiative and the Multinational Joint Taskforce”.
Akpabio Tasks ECOWAS Parliament to Address Challenges in West Africa
President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, said ECOWAS Parliament must come up with legislative instruments to tackle the numerous challenges in the West African sub-region.
Akpabio urged them to embrace the spirit of unity, innovation, and an unwavering belief in the sub-region’s shared destiny.
He spoke yesterday, while declaring open the 2024 First Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Parliament, at the National Assembly, Abuja.
The senate president was represented by Deputy President of the Senate and First Deputy Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament, Senator Jibrin Barau.
Barau highlighted the centuries-old history of collaboration among the diverse people of the region.
Akpabio urged the Community Parliament to go beyond legislation to uplift the people by exemplifying the power of collaboration.
He stated, “As we embark on the deliberations and discussions that lie ahead, let us remain steadfast in our optimism.
“The challenges we face are not insurmountable. With unity, innovation, and an unwavering belief in our shared destiny, we can transform our collective aspirations into enduring achievements.
“In this session, let our conversations be driven by the spirit of partnership and collective ambition. Let us demonstrate that when West Africa stands united, there are no limits to what we can accomplish. Our diversity is our strength, and our unity is our power.”
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