Parliament elects Bureau for sixth legislature

Members of the ECOWAS Parliament (The House of Representatives of the Peoples of the Community) on Thursday, April 4, 2024, elected Members of the new Bureau to exercise its function as the governing organ of the Sixth Legislature of the Community Parliament.

The Members of the new Bureau as elected include: First Deputy Speaker, Rt. Hon. Jibrin Barau (Nigeria), Second Deputy Speaker, Hon. Adjaratou Traore Coulibaly (Cote d’Ivoire), Third Deputy Speaker, Hon. Alexander Afenyo-Markin (Ghana) and Fourth Deputy Speaker, Hon. Billay Tunkara (Gambia).

Rt. Hon. Barau Jibrin, leader of the Nigerian delegation and Deputy President of the Nigeria’s Senate, is therefore expected to serve as Acting Speaker of the Sixth legislature pending the election of a substantive Speaker of the Parliament.

The position of substantive speaker of the Parliament allocated to the Republic of Togo, remains vacant as all Members of the Togolese delegation to the Community Parliament were absent at the inaugural session.

The position of the Speaker of the Sixth Legislature of the ECOWAS Parliament is allocated to the Republic of Togo, mindful of Article 24 of the Supplementary Act of the Parliament relating to the enhancement of the powers of parliament, which provides that the position of the Speaker of the Parliament shall be allocated to Member States by the Authority of the Heads of State, in line with an established rotational system based on the alphabetical order of States.

The newly elected Bureau of the Sixth Legislature is expected to govern over the affairs of Parliament for a four-year tenure in line with Article 5 of the Supplementary Act Relating to the Enhancement of the Powers of the Parliament.