The ECOWAS Parliament is opening its First Ordinary Session on Monday 14 May 2012 at its headquarters in Abuja. --- --- The May Session will last for about three weeks. All the ECOWAS Parliamentarians are expected to be present and some new Members will be sworn in. The new Members will include Parliamentarians from Liberia and Ghana. They will be replacing the former Members who have either lost their national mandate or have been appointed to higher executive positions in their governments

Welcome to The ECOWAS Parliament

The ECOWAS Parliament is a forum for dialogue, consultation and consensus for representatives of the peoples of West Africa in order to promote integration. Parliament has been established in accordance with Article 6 and 13 of the ECOWAS Treaty. The Protocol establishing the Parliament was signed in Abuja on August 6, 1994 and entered into force since March 14, 2002.

Structure

The Parliament is the Assembly of Peoples of the Community. Its members represent all the peoples of West Africa.

Composition

Parliament consists of 115 seats. Each of the 15 Member State has five seats at least. The remaining seats are shared in proportion to the population. As a result, Nigeria has 35 seats, Ghana 8, Côte d'Ivoire 7, while Burkina Faso, Guinea, Mali, Niger and Senegal have 06 seats each. Other countries: Benin, Cape Verde, Gambia, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Togo have 05 seats each.

Rt. Hon. Speaker Sen. Ike Ekwemadu

Secretary General Mohamed Diakite

Members of the Bureau

Latest news

As the first ordinary session of the ECOWAS Parliament opened in Abuja, the Rt. Hon. Speaker of the Parliament, Senator Ike Ekweremadu has urged Parliamentarians to brace up for advocacy towards the enhancement of the powers of the Community Parliament.

Regional security situation and threats to democracy took centre stage as the first session of the ECOWAS Parliament opened in Abuja on Monday 14, May 2012. The Rt. Hon. Speaker of the Community Parliament, Senator Ike Ekweremadu said democracy came under test and triumph in the region in the past few months.

Three parliamentarians were on Monday, 14 May, 2012, sworn into the ECOWAS Parliament as the first ordinary session gets underway.
The Community Parliament is willing to invite Guinea Bissau to attend its ongoing first session once the ECOWAS Commission lifts the suspension imposed on the country in the wake of a military coup.

The Rt. Hon. Speaker, Senator Ike Ekweremadu has recommended an amendment of the Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance to allow for the

Community Court of Justice to try coup plotters as a deterrent from further military coups in the region and to ensure coup plotters who arrange amnesty for themselves at national level are brought to justice.

Some Parliamentarians have advised that the monetary convergence be fast-tracked while questioning its slow progress. They suggested that the convergence criteria should either be lowered or Member States who have met with the minimum convergence criteria be allowed to setup the monetary Union while others join them upon meeting the conditions.

Members of Parliament engaged in fervent debates after the President of the ECOWAS Commission, H.E Kadré Désiré Ouedraogo on Tuesday 15, May 2012 presented his Statement on the Status of the Community to the 1st Ordinary Session of the Parliament.

The ECOWAS Parliament on Tuesday 15, May 2012 strongly indicated it would not accept attempts by the junta in Mali to prolong its grip on power through tricks meant to delay a full transfer of power to a transitional government.

Parliamentarians Keen on Human Rights, Press Freedom in the Gambia

Burkina Faso presented its Country Report to the session on Wednesday 16, May 2012 drawing attention to the challenging food situation faced by the ECOWAS region.

Parliamentarians on Wednesday 16, May 2012 showed interest in learning from the success story of Burkina Faso in the areas where it addressed a military crisis as well as its plan to create constitutional roles for traditional rulers.

Togo has said remittance of its Community Levy is up to date as the ECOWAS Parliament increased the call on Member Countries to ensure compliance with the remittance to the Community's account.