ECOWAS to hold Delocalised meetings on Peace, Security, Good Governance in Banjul

By Linda Ike

A joint Committee of the Economic Community of West African States ( ECOWAS) Parliament is set to hold its delocalised meeting in Banjul, Capital of Gambia to reflect on the role of
parliamentary oversight in the effective implementation of the ECOWAS texts on Peace, Security, and Democracy.

The meeting will commence on Tuesday August 16, and ends on Saturday August 20, 2022.

The theme of the meeting is Community texts relating to peace, security, democracy and good governance: challenges in their implementation and the oversight role of ECOWAS Parliament will commence on Tuesday August 16 and ends on Saturday August 20, 2022

Currentnews gathered that three of the fourteen Standing Committees of the Parliament comprising Committees on Political Affairs, Peace, Security and African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) / Legal affairs and human rights / Social Affairs, Gender and Women Empowerment constitute the joint committee that will be meeting in Banjul.

A statement by the Communication Division of the Parliament disclosed that the main objective of the meeting is to create an opportunity for the Members of the Joint Committee to acquaint
themselves with and take ownership of the ECOWAS texts on peace and security, democracy and good
governance as well asidentify the best mechanism for oversight for their effective implementation within Member
States.

“Since its creation on 28 May, 1975, ECOWAS has adopted a significant number of Texts aimed at preventing,
managing and/or settling conflicts within the Community, as well as maintaining and promoting peace and
regional security.

“However, attempts to effectively implement these Community Texts have thrown up, several apparent challenges.
Consequently, the impact of these texts on improving the security and good governance climate and environment
within the ECOWAS region, remains insufficiently evident” it stated.

According to the statement, ECOWAS Parliament is composed of 115 seats with each Member State allotting to a guaranteed minimum
of five seats.

It stated that the remaining forty seats are distributed in proportion to the population of each country.
Consequently, in total, Nigeria has 35 seats, followed by Ghana, w i t h eight seats and Côte d’Ivoire, with seven seats. O t h e r s a r e Burkina Faso, Guinea, Mali, Niger and Senegal which are allotted six seats each, whereas Benin, Cabo Verde, Gambia, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Togo have five
seats each.