News
Nigeria’s Senator Jibrin Elected As First Deputy Speaker of ECOWAS Parliament
…as Togo failed to attend inaugural ceremony
By Gloria Ikibah
Nigeria has been elected the first Deputy Speaker of the Parliament of the Economic Community of West African States ECOWAS, with Senator Barau Jibrin clinching the position.
Naijablitznews.com recalled that President Bola Tinubu who is Chairman of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of States and government inaugurated the Sixth legislature of the ECOWAS Parliament on Thursday in Abuja.
The inaugural Session of the Parliament formally marks the commencement of the business of the 6th legislature, is in pursuant to Article 28 of the Supplementary Act on the Enhancement of the Powers of the ECOWAS Parliament of 2016, following the end of the Fifth Legislature of the ECOWAS Parliament on March 8, 2024.
Members were also expected to elect The Speaker of the Sixth Legislature to serve a four-year tenure, in accordance with the provisions of the Supplementary Act 2016.
And Article 24 of the Supplementary Act of the Parliament relating to the Enhancement of the Powers of Parliament provides that the position of the Speaker of the Parliament shall be allocated to Member States by the Authority, in line with an established rotational system based on the alphabetical order of Member States.
The Republic of Togo comes next in
alphabetical order of Member States after Sierra Leone which held the position of Speaker in the just ended Fifth Legislature.
And in this legislature the Republic of Togo will be fielding a candidate for the position of the Speaker but this didn’t happen as Togolese delegates were absent for this auspicious occasion.
However, the regional legislature was unable to elect a substantive Speaker to lead the Parliament following the inability of Togo which the position was zoned, to produce the Speaker due the political situation in their country.
For the election of the four Deputy Speaker to take place, the Bureau must be constituted and with the inability to produce a speaker due to the absence of the Togolese delegates, the parliament nominated a pro-temporal speaker.
Inpursuant to the Supplementary Act the oldest member and the two youngest memebers of parliament were selected to constitute the Bureau. After this a motion was moved by an MP to nominate Hon. Edwin Snowe Jnr as the Speaker Pro-Tempo to enable the Parliament elect the first, second, third and forth Deputy Speakers.
The motion to make Hon. Snowe the Speaker Pro-Tempo was seconded and unanimously adopted by the MPs through a voice vote.
Hon. Barau was nominated by a Nigerian member of Parliament, Awaji- Inombek Dagomie Abiante, in a session presided by Liberia’s Edwin Snowe as Speaker Pro-Tempo. His nomination was seconded by another Nigerian member of Parliament, Senator Ireti Kingibe and he was voted unopposed.
The office of the Deputy Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament is usually reserved for Nigeria anytime the country is not presiding as Speaker of the Parliament.
Also elected as Second Deputy Speaker was Hon. Adjaratou Traore Coulibally from Cote d’Ivoire, who polled 54 votes to beat Hon. Cecile Ahoumnon from Benin, who got zero vote.
The position of the Third Deputy Speaker was won by Hon. Alexander Kwamena Afenyo- Markin from Ghana in a unanimous voice vote.
The Fourth Deputy Speaker position was won by Hon. Billay Tunkara from The Gambia with 47 votes beating Hon. Orlando Pereira Dias from Cabo Verde who got 7 votes.
Outgoing Speaker of the Parliament, Sidie Mohammed Tunis, thanked the regional body for the opportunity given him to serve for four years even as he reaffirmed his commitment to the regional body.
Hon. Tunis was appointed ceremonial speaker, following the gap that exists because Togo, the country to which the Speakership was zoned, was not able to produce the Speaker due to some political situation in the country.
Earlier on Thursday, had announced his intention to travel to Togo to see how best to get a Speaker.
He said: “I will proceed to Togo to have a conversion with the authorities there with a view to encouraging them to have their delegation inaugurated as soon as possible so that we can have a Speaker to run this institution. It is very, very important. There are so many things to do in the sub-region, and the ECOWAS Parliament has a very big role to play in the sub-region but they will not be able to do so without the Speaker.”
Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Yusuf Maitama Tuggar in his address, noted that in the face of the various challenges confronting the region, including peace, stability, security, as well as the unity of the region, the role of the Parliament is more important than ever.
The Minister, who is also the Chair of the ECOWAS Council of Ministers, commended the outgoing 5th Legislature, especially its Speaker Mohamed Tunis, for their invaluable contributions to the ECOWAS Parliament and the Organization as a whole.
He said “it is, therefore, imperative that the Parliament continues to work in synergy with the ECOWAS Commission and other Institutions that serve as the executive and judicial arms of our governments”.
The lawmaker representing Kaura Namoda South Constituency in the Zamfara State House of Assembly, Aminu Ibrahim Kasuwar-Daji, has died.
It was gathered that the lawmaker passed on in his sleep during the early hours of Wednesday.
Aminu Ibrahim Kasuwar-Daji’s sudden death came as a shock to many in the state, especially his colleagues and political associates.
The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Zamfara, the party under which he was elected, expressed deep sorrow over his passage.
Members of the party, including the State Working Committee and other supporters, described his death as a great loss.
They said he was known for his dedication and honesty in serving his people.
His family, community members in Kaura Namoda South, and fellow lawmakers have been thrown into mourning as preparations for his burial began.
According to Islamic rites, he was buried today at 3:00 pm in his hometown of Kasuwar-Daji, located in the Kaura Namoda Local Government Area.
Many in the state have continued to express grief as they remember the role he played in representing the people and contributing to the work of the state assembly.
Mr. Sam Olumekun has taken over at the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as Acting Chairman.
Olumekun is INEC’s National Commissioner in charge of Information and Voter Education.
He performed his first duties today, receiving a high-level delegation of the Labour Party (LP) at the Commission’s headquarters in Abuja with other National Commissioners in attendance.
The delegation was led by Abia State Governor Dr. Alex Otti, who visited the Commission to discuss key developments within the Labour Party.
It was gathered that both parties engaged in discussions centered on enhancing collaboration and reinforcing democratic values.
During the visit, Governor Otti formally presented a Certified True Copy of the recent Supreme Court judgment concerning the party’s leadership.
He noted that the meeting was aimed at fostering clarity, mutual understanding, and institutional alignment regarding the Labour Party’s current structure.
Mr. Olumekun, the Acting INEC Chairman, reaffirmed the Commission’s unwavering commitment to neutrality, transparency, and the rule of law in the discharge of its constitutional responsibilities.
Recall that a viral WhatsApp message had indicated that Prof. Mahmood was sacked by President Bola Tinubu and replaced with one Prof. Bashiru Olamilekan.
“INEC Chairman Prof. Mahmud Yakubu has been replaced with Prof. Bashiru Olamilekan by President Tinubu,” the message, which had no attribution, read. However, both INEC and the Presidency debunked the widespread report.
Yakubu, who is rounding off his second tenure in office, is expected to exit the system towards the end of this year.
The process of appointing an INEC chairman is the President nominating a candidate and forwarding his particulars to the Department of State Services (DSS) for profiling.
After such screening, the President, thereafter, takes the name to the National Council of State for its advisory review.
Based on the outcome, the President sends the name to the Senate for screening and confirmation.
Crude oil prices have dropped below $57, following a previous rate of $59.78.
This decline coincides with the imposition of tariffs on several countries by US President Donald Trump.
A report from West Texas Intermediate attributes this price slump to consistent 6% reductions observed last week.
JPMorgan Chase & Co has warned that these tariffs could likely push both the US and global economies into a recession this year.
The financial institution explained that the tariffs, set to take effect this week, are expected to have widespread economic repercussions.
Market analysts and the business community have expressed concerns about the negative implications of these measures, predicting a slowdown in economic activities and a subsequent decline in oil demand.
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