IPNEWS: Liberia President George Manneh Weah, has departed the country for Accra, Ghana, to attend a. Emergency ECOWAS meeting.
The Liberian Leader departed early Sunday Morning, May 30,2021, via the Roberts International Airport.
On Thrusday, May 27, 2021, in Abuja, Nigeria, the 2021 First Ordinary Session of the Fifth Legislature of the ECOWAS Parliament opened.
The Session was declared open by his H.E. Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, President of the Republic of Ghana and Chairman of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government.
In his opening statement, H.E. President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo stressed the importance of peace, security and stability to the development of the Region and the sustenance of democratic institutions. He encouraged the parliamentarians to ensure the efficient and effective use of Community resources for the development of “our community and the peo-ple”.
While welcoming the Honourable Members of the ECOWAS Parliament to Abuja, H.E. Jean-Claude Kassi Brou, the President of the ECOWAS Commission, highlighted the importance of the enhancement of the powers of the ECOWAS Parliament to the life of Community’s institutions.
Despite the Covid-19 Pandemic, President Brou added that “we must focus on economic recovery and redirect our energies by capitalising on our potentials, as well as leveraging the op-portunities available to us”.
The Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament, the Rt. Hon. Dr. Sidie Mohamed Tunis in his opening remarks reiterated his commitment to the direct election of Members to the ECOWAS Parliament.
“The Major advantage of direct election of representatives is that it guarantees that the people have the ultimate choice on what will benefit the entire Community,” said the Speaker.
The Opening Session was attended by H.E. Jewel Tayor, the Vice President of the Republic of Liberia, H.E. Shirley Ayorkor Botchway, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Ghana and Chairperson of ECOWAS Council of Ministers, Ambassador Zubairu Dada, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Nigeria, Speaker of UEMOA Parliament, and His Lordship Edward Amoako-Asante, President of the ECOWAS Community Court of Justice.
Also in attendance were Distinguished Senator Ahmed Ibrahim Lawan, the Senate President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, H.E. Finda Koroma, Vice-President of the ECOWAS Commission, Dr. Alfred M. Braimah, Auditor-General of ECOWAS Institutions and Honourable Commissioners from the ECOWAS Commission, Members of the Diplomatic Corps, among other dignitaries at the event.
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) commemorates its 46th Anniversary today, May 28, 2021. Forty-Six years ago in Lagos, Nigeria, the leaders of West Africa signed the Lagos Treaty establishing ECOWAS with the aim of integrating the region economically to better the lives of its peoples.
The dreams of the founding fathers which was a Community to promote co-operation and integration, leading to the establishment of an economic union in West Africa in order to raise the living standards of its peoples, and to maintain and enhance economic stability, foster relations-among Member States and contribute to the progress and development of the African Continent, has been upheld over the years by successive West African Leaders, despite some challenges.
Having been faced with the challenges of Covid-19 over the past one year, the Region is on the path of economic recovery, after efforts made by the Authority of ECOWAS Heads of State and Government to contain the virus and get the Region out of economic crisis caused by the pandemic.
The theme of this year’s ECOWAS Day Celebration is “Prosperity Beyond the Pandemic” which reflects the collective interventions made by ECOWAS Leaders in combating the Covid-19 pandemic in the Region, thereby setting the Community on the path of economic recovery.
ECOWAS through the West African Health Organisation (WAHO) has carried several interventions to assist Member States contain and recover from the effects of the pandemic.
H.E. Jean-Claude Kassi Brou, the President of the ECOWAS Commission has reiterated the commitment of the ECOWAS Commission to support the Heads of State in the development of a prosperous Region, thereby improving the livelihood of the people of West Africa.
