President Goodluck Jonathan has said that the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) will not tolerate any forceful change of power in the sub-region.
He said this at the inauguration of the third ECOWAS Legislative Session yesterday in Abuja.
President Jonathan said that the sub-region would continue to work with the international community to frustrate any attempt to usurp the powers of any democratically elected government.
ECOWAS is rife with instability arising from coups and civil conflicts that undermine development.
Jonathan was speaking against the backdrop of the recent assassination attempt on the President of Guinea, Alpha Condé, and the security breach in Niger Republic which threatened the newly-elected government of Mahamadou Issoufou.
He charged members of the ECOWAS Parliament to give proper account of their activities in order to ensure cohesiveness and unity among member states.
The ECOWAS legislature was inaugurated yesterday in Abuja and had 102 parliamentarians from across the region sworn in out of the 115 with parliamentarians from Guinea Bissau and Cote d’Ivoire absent.
President Jonathan said that the event came at a time of positive happenings in the region with the resolution of conflicts and restoration of democracy in Cote d’Ivoire, Niger Republic and Guinea Conakry.
He said that he would like to see more of the parliament’s committee meetings held outside Nigeria so that member states could host the august events.
In his speech, the President of the ECOWAS Commission, Victor Gbeho, said that the Commission is undergoing deep structural challenges and its legislative arm is of critical importance to the overall development and integration agenda of the Community.
He said, “The Community Work Program underpining the regional integration process is constructed on a solid strategic framework that flows from the ECOWAS Vision 2020, the aim of which is to transform the region from an ECOWAS of States into an ECOWAS of peoples living in a peaceful and secure environment and benefitting from the abundant potentialities and resources of our region.”
To actualise this ECOWAS vision, Gbeho said that member states must be bound “by the shared values of sustainable development, democracy and good governance, the market economy, and the consolidation of peace and security.”
He urged the legislators to ensure that decisions reached at the “Community level are domesticated in national legislation and find traction and application in Member States.”
Also speaking, President of the Senate, David Mark, said that the ECOWAS parliament is one of the most impressive initiatives taken in pursuit of democracy, development and stability in the region.
He called on the legislators to justify the role of the parliament and “legislate constructively to deepen existing integration and cooperation efforts in the sub-region; legislate constructively to raise the living standards of our people and peace and development in the sub-region.”
ECOWAS is struggling for relevance in the minds of its citizens as few can justify what tangible benefits they have gotten from the Commission.
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