By Abdullateef Bamgbose
The newly elected Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament, Memounatou Ibrahima, on Thursday, paid a courtesy visit to the Deputy President of the Senate and First Deputy Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament, Senator Barau I Jibrin, at the National Assembly, Abuja.
In company of the Speaker were the fourth Deputy Speaker of ECOWAS Parliament, Billay G Tunkara and the management staff of the subrejional assembly.
Senator Barau, while welcoming the speaker and her entourage, expressed delight over the visit and congratulated her on her emergence as the Speaker of the Sixth Legislature of the ECOWAS Parliament.
In a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Ismail Mudashir, Senator Barau said he had prepared the ground for the new speaker when he acted as the Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament between April 4th and May 23rd , this year.
He said they will continue to support her to take the parliament to the next level with a view of addressing the challenges facing the subregion.
“Once again, I want to congratulate you on your election as the Speaker of the ECOWAS parliament. Based on your track records and history, you are well-suited for the job. We hope you are going to do your best to make sure that the parliament is taken to the next level.
“I held forth for you before your election. And as an acting speaker then, I did very well to prepare the ground for you to make sure everything goes fine. I am glad that you are hitting the ground running without wasting time. The election took place about ten days ago, but now you are in Abuja. This is a demonstration of the wonderful things that you are bringing to the parliament by the grace of God,” he said.
On the building the permanent site of the ECOWAS parliament, Senator Barau promised to intervene through the federal government to provide the required funds for the project to take off.
“On the issue of the parliament building, the Secretary-General informed me that a certain amount has been earmarked. So, I took it upon myself that I will intervene to ensure that money is made available for the project to start. I have gotten the support of the Senate President. So, we are working together with the Senate President to make sure that money is available for the project to start,” he said.
In her remarks, the Speaker of the ECOWAS parliament, Maimunatou Ibrahim, thanked the Deputy President of the Senate for the warm reception.
“I thank the First Deputy Speaker for warm reception not only in Abuja but also in Kano during the second Extraordinary Session. I am glad to be here because this is a form of courtesy visit that we are embarking on. I also appreciate your commitment to ensure that the headquarters of the ECOWAS parliament takes off soon,” she said.
