…It should be reformed —Mark

BY HENRY UMORU

ABUJA — SPEAKER of Parliament of the Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, has said that if the recently adopted roadmap for the enhancement of the powers of the ECOWAS Parliament was effectively observed, it would transform the parliament into a full legislative institution.

This came as Senate President, David Mark, called for the reform of ECOWAS Parliament to enable it serve as a true regional parliament like European Union.

Speaking, yesterday, at the opening of the 2013 1st Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Parliament in Abuja, the speaker, who also doubles as the Deputy President of the Nigerian Senate, said:   “The enhancement of the powers of the community parliament remains on top of the agenda of this Third Legislature.

“I am very hopeful that the powers of the community parliament will be enhanced in the lifetime of this Third Legislature.”

Ekweremadu noted that the parliament had contributed meaningfully towards the actualisation of the goals of ECOWAS in the areas of integration process, democracy, peace, security, and stability, adding that the sub-region would gain more when the Parliament transited from an advisory institution to a full legislature.