The newly elected Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament, Memounatou Ibrahima, has paid a courtesy visit to the Deputy President of the Nigerian Senate, Senator Barau Jibrin, at the National Assembly, Abuja.
Senator Jibrin, who is also the First Deputy Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament while welcoming the Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament Ibrahima, and her entourage, expressed delight on the visit and congratulated her on her emergence as the Speaker of the Sixth legislature of the ECOWAS Parliament.
Prepared the ground
In a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Ismail Mudashir, Senator Jibrin 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 would continue to support her to take the parliament to the next level to address 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 occurred 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.
Required funds
On the building of the permanent site of the ECOWAS parliament, Senator Jibrin 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 was made available for the project to start. I have gotten the support of the Senate President. So, we are working 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 thanked the Deputy President of the Nigerian Senate for the warm reception.
“I thank the First Deputy Speaker for the 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 ensuring that the headquarters of the ECOWAS parliament takes off soon,” she said.
Hon. Ibrahima also visited the President of the ECOWAS Commission, Dr. Alieu Touray, as part of her efforts boosting in inter-institutional cooperation.