ECOWAS Parliament urges stronger cooperation, greater powers to tackle Sahel insecurity

By Ifeyinwa Ike

Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Parliamentarians have urged for deeper regional cooperation, expanded parliamentary powers and sustained diplomacy to confront worsening insecurity in the Sahel, after adopting a resolution aimed at ending rising terrorism and violent extremism across West Africa.

Speaking to Journalists after the close of the Parliament’s First Ordinary Session in Abuja, Ghanaian lawmaker Hon. Dominic Napara and Gambian delegate Hon. Amodu Camera warned that instability and terrorism in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger pose serious threats that spill across borders and directly affect neighbours including Nigeria and Ghana.

“Whatever happens in those countries affects all of us. Terrorism is a common enemy, and we must work together to confront it,” Napara said, urging preservation of common protocols on trade, transport corridors and free movement to protect regional integration and economic stability.

Camera described the Sahel crisis as one of ECOWAS’s most complex challenges. He said the Parliament’s Political Affairs Committee had extensively reviewed the situation and forwarded recommendations to the ECOWAS Commission and Council of Ministers.

Camera urged that the regional legislature be strengthened through fuller legislative authority and direct elections for Parliament members so it can better amplify citizens’ voices and push for timely regional responses.

The resolution condemns the April 25 terrorist attacks in Mali that killed Defence Minister Gen. Sadio Camara, members of his family and others, and recognises the destabilising impact of terrorism on Mali, the Sahel and West Africa, including threats to democratic governance, economic development and regional integration.

It mandates the Speaker to forward the text to the President of the ECOWAS Commission for action.

Key calls in the resolution include:
Strengthened cooperation among member states on intelligence sharing, border security and joint military operations against terrorist groups.

Intensified engagement and cooperation with the Sahel countries most affected by the crisis, despite their recent withdrawals from some ECOWAS organs.

Recognition and use of ECOWAS instruments, including the Protocol on Conflict Prevention, Management and Resolution, and Articles 6 and 13 of the Revised Treaty relating to ECOWAS institutions and the Community Parliament.

The Parliament also expressed condolences to the government and people of Mali and to the families of the victims.

Lawmakers said they remain hopeful that sustained diplomacy, stronger institutions and closer collaboration among ECOWAS member states will help restore peace and stability in the Sahel and advance regional integration.

They stressed that West African countries share a common destiny and must continue working together to confront insecurity and promote development