By Linus Aleke
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Parliament recently held its plenary in Abuja where issues concerning member states were deliberated, aiming at achieving some of the objectives of the sub-continent.
The ECOWAS Parliament, since its inception in 1994 has encouraged peaceful and cordial relationships among member states, as well as promoted integration among citizenry across the borders.
However, the peaceful relationship which has existed among the ECOWAS member states for many years now is being torn apart by an alleged recruitment scandal, presently rocking the Parliament.
Nigerian lawmakers at the Parliament have accused the leadership of the Parliament of unfair treatment in the employment of staff into vacant positions in ECOWAS institutions, which they said has been skewed against Nigeria.
The development has generated tension among the member countries, leading to harsh accusations and counter-accusations with Nigeria at the receiving end of spreading false information against member states.
Reacting to the ugly situation rocking the Community, the leader of the Liberian Delegation to the ECOWAS Parliament, Senator Edwin Snowe, in an interview with some journalists in Abuja last weekend derided the Nigerian Delegation to the Community Parliament for misrepresentation of fact and casting unnecessary aspersion on the Parliament and its Speaker Sidie Mohamed Tunis over the alleged recruitment scandal.
Senator Snowe also accused the Nigerian MPs of filibustering to impress Nigerians to canvass for votes ahead of the 2023 General elections in Nigeria.
“ECOWAS was founded on solidarity, there is nothing that makes might right in the community. The Nigerian delegation questioning the recruitment process is misrepresenting the decisions that emanated from the plenary.
“I understand that our brothers are going for election and sometimes they filibuster because they want the vote and support of their constituencies to feel that they represent Nigeria’s interest at the Parliament.
“But we will not allow the Parliament to be used as a stepping stone for the re-election of politicians,” he said.
Snowe noted, “Recruitment into the ECOWAS institutions is very competitive and cannot short-change any country let alone Nigeria that has made invaluable contributions to the development of the community.”
He argued that there was no resolution reached at the plenary to suspend recruitment into the P5 positions as is being insinuated by the Nigerian delegation, noting that Nigerians are adequately represented in ECOWAS Parliament and other institutions of the community.
Giving further insight into the recruitment scandal, the Liberian MP said the report of a resolution to suspend the recruitment process was not true, as a motion was entertained by the First Deputy Speaker, who was the presiding officer on the issues raised by Nigerian MPs on Nigerians being short-changed.
He revealed that the issue of recruitment is being handled by a Nigerian firm contracted by the Community to take applications and shortlist successful citizens of the sub-region for the interview and wondered why Nigerian lawmakers are raising unnecessary dust over the issue.
He further posited that the matter was referred to the Bureau for further action and that it does not constitute a resolution to suspend the process as the whole community activities cannot be stopped because some lawmakers from a member country raised issues.
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“There was no vote taken on this matter, two Nigerian lawmakers raised the issue about the recruitment process. There was this staff skill audit that was done at ECOWAS and the results came out not too favourable to some of the staff occupying certain positions. So, the lawmakers linked the staff skill audit debate to the recruitment process.
“But the Deputy Speaker asked the Bureau to take seize of the matter and investigate it and get back to the Parliament’s Plenary at the earliest possible time. There was no vote taken because resolution at Parliament is based on the vote,” the Liberian MP explained.
He further noted that apart from the P1 to P3 positions which were junior cadre, there is no record that the recruitment into the P5 positions, which is the bone of contention, has been made as no decision has been reached on it.
He said the issue is within the jurisdiction of the Management Succession Committee (MSC), of the ECOWAS Commission.
Snowe also pointed out that the regional bloc recognises the immense contributions of Nigeria and had taken steps to give Nigeria adequate representation in ECOWAS institutions.
“At the Parliament, as I speak to you, there are 73 staff members and 35 of them are Nigerians.
We breached the Rule of Procedure, we breached the Supplementary Act, and gave Nigeria a deserving platform at the Parliament. This consideration made is not out of weakness, it is out of our appreciation for the role Nigeria has played in our sub-region.
“For Example at the Authority of Heads of State and Government, the Chairmanship is rotational. At the Parliament, the Speakership is rotational in alphabetical order. But on our own, outside the Protocol – the Supplementary Act of the Parliament, outside our standing rule, we have agreed that when Nigeria is not chairing as Speaker, Nigeria should always serve as First Deputy Speaker even when no rule supports that,” he disclosed.
The second thing he revealed, was that each country has a committee chair in the Parliament currently except for Guinea Bissau.
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He said, “We also said that because of Nigeria’s magnanimity, we have given Nigeria two Committee Chairmen positions because we respected for what tax payers’ money has done for the region. Nigeria permanently chairs the Finance Committee and another committee in addition to the First Deputy Speaker when Nigeria is not serving as Speaker”.
But a Nigerian MP, Awaji Inombek Abiante, insisted that there was a resolution suspending the one-sided recruitment exercise.
He posited that the Speaker of ECOWAS Parliament is duty bound to respect the resolutions of Parliament.
“If he does not respect the resolution of Parliament. I wonder which Parliament he is heading. So, it is left for him to answer where he stands. You know, probably some of us are not well experienced, relative to Parliamentary requirements and procedures. Therefore, if one is not experienced, we could expect this kind of action.
“But the Speaker is duty bound to obey the resolution of Parliament. He is first amongst equals, but we are all members of Parliament, and by certain requirements, somebody has to lead. So, if he is the speaker today, it does not make him senior or superior to any Member of Parliament.
“And who is he speaking for? He is speaking for the entirety of all of us and if we have come and raised issues, and resolutions taken, saying stop this, he is duty bound to obey. So, whatever, they had done, we the parliamentarians see it as an effort in complete futility,” Abiante roared.
Earlier, the Nigerian Delegation had threatened to withdraw the country’s membership of the regional bloc if ECOWAS Speaker does not suspend the ongoing recruitment exercise as recently directed in the 2022 First Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Parliament in Abuja.
The Nigerian representatives at the parliament issued the threat when some principal officers in the regional bloc allegedly defied the directives and embarked on the illegal process of recruiting their relatives and cronies.
The lawmakers referenced the huge financial commitments that, Nigeria makes to the body amid its internal security challenges.
They said there was no commensurate return on investment for Nigeria in ECOWAS for all the country has done and is doing for the region from its inception in 1975.
Leader of the Nigerian delegation and Deputy Speaker of the Nigerian House of Representatives, who is also the First Deputy Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament, Ahmed Idris Wase, said it has become imperative that Nigeria review its relevance and membership in the bloc.
“If you are in a system, and you are not getting the right results, where you are investing your money, it pays best to walk out of the union.
In a situation where we are having an infrastructural deficit and witnessing security challenges, why should we continue to invest our money where it will not benefit our country?
“Yes, we will pull out if we don’t get the desired result from this,” Wase threatened.
He continued, “We are asking for justice not just for Nigerians alone, but for the entire ECOWAS community. That is what MPs are asking for. Few countries want to run ECOWAS like a cabal but we will not tolerate that.”
Meanwhile, the Nigerian Permanent Representative to ECOWAS, Ambassador Musa Nuhu, also wrote the Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament, Sidie Mohamed Tunis on the alleged lopsided employment impropriety rocking ECOWAS.
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The letter from Nuhu was dated July 20, 2022, and titled, “Formal complaint about unfair treatment and confirmation of staff at the ECOWAS parliament”.
The letter reads: “I have the honour to refer to our verbal discussion on the above subject matter and formally inform you that the attention of the Permanent Mission of Nigeria to the ECOWAS Commission has been drawn to several complaints by Nigerian staff working at the ECOWAS Parliament.
“The grievances border around stagnation and overlooking of staff already working in the parliament in favour of outsiders in the ongoing recruitment for divisional heads and professional staff.
“This action directly contravenes the recommendations of the 30th meeting of the ECOWAS Administrative and Finance Committee as well as the position of the Council of Ministers, which directed that internal candidates should be prioritised in filling existing vacancies in ECOWAS institutions, as recommended in the Staff Skills Audit Report.
“The Honourable Speaker may kindly wish to note that the mission has examined the complaints of the staff of the parliament based on existing staff regulations as well as the decisions and guidelines given by the AFC and Council of Ministers for ECOWAS institutions to carry out the recruitment and found that their grievances are genuine.
“Therefore, as you rightly observed during our discussions, recruiting individuals outside the system to place them above the existing staff would only lead to discontent, demoralization, and continued stagnation of the staff. This will inevitably affect the overall performance of the Parliament.”
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The Speaker on Sunday yielded to pressure from the Nigerian MPs and not only suspend the ongoing lopsided recruitment exercise, but also sets up an investigative ad-hoc committee to look into the matter.
Nevertheless, some MPs are raising issues over the choice of Senator Ali Ndume as the Chairman of the Ad-hoc committee constituted by the Speaker to probe the recruitment scandal.
In conclusion, the outcome of the Investigative panel is pregnant with divergent outcomes that only time shall reveal to the principal actors and the spectators in the ongoing recruitment imbroglio.
