Deliver or Collapse: Abbas, Jatta Warn ECOWAS Democracy Demands Results Over Rhetoric

By Ifeyinwa Ike

Speaker of Nigeria’s House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas has warned that West African democracy risks collapse without tangible outcomes in security, economy, and governance.

Abbas who gave the warning on Monday at the 2026 First Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Parliament in Abuja, cited low voter turnout and coup resurgences, stressing, “Electoral legitimacy must match governance results.”

Abbas called for empowering the ECOWAS Parliament with legislative authority, oversight, direct elections, and budgetary scrutiny to anchor stability.

He spotlighted Nigeria’s reforms, fuel subsidy removal and exchange rate unification as democratic successes yielding fiscal gains and intensified security operations, proving tough changes need no military shortcuts.

National parliaments, he said, are key: Nigeria has ramped up productivity, oversight, public engagement, and friendship groups for regional cooperation.

“Parliaments restore confidence,” Abbas concluded, outlining priorities like accountability and turning agreements into action.

Speaker of The Gambia’s National Assembly, Fabakary Tombong Jatta, demanded lawmakers deliver on security, economic integration, and unity, not just words.

Terrorism in the Sahel displaces communities and tests resolve, he noted, while democratic strains and disengagement threaten ECOWAS cohesion.

Jatta pushed accelerating intra-regional trade under the African Continental Free Trade Area by removing non-tariff barriers and harmonising rules. Climate change, from desert advance to coastal erosion, now fuels conflicts and demands regional policies, financing, and global advocacy.

Praising direct suffrage proposals for parliamentary legitimacy, he championed parliamentary diplomacy for persistent dialogue.

“Citizens want safer communities, stronger economies, and dignified governance,. Make ECOWAS of the People a reality through action.” Jatta said

The session signals urgency for West Africa’s 400 million people amid intertwined crises.