By Cross Udo, Abuja
President Muhammadu Buhari, Monday in Abuja, called on members of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to remove what he described as “outdated physical and psychological boundaries and other colonially-inspired differences” for the region to progress economically.
The President also reminded legislators of the ECOWAS parliament of the need to align their programmes to those of the founding fathers of the sub-regional body.
Buhari, who stated this at the opening session of the 2022 Second Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Parliament, said that “the vision of the founding fathers of ECOWAS was to have a West Africa that is integrated economically with harmonized policies, enjoying the free movement of persons, goods and services, as well as the seamless right to the establishment.
“We must continue to strive harder to attain those objectives. Let us take advantage of existing mechanisms and our enterprising population to turn our dreams into reality.
“We can do so. Let us collaborate more and remove our outdated physical and psychological boundaries and other colonially-inspired differences so our region can fully attain its full potential,” he said.
On the election of members of the ECOWAS Parliament by Direct Universal Suffrage, President Buhari strongly declared his support for the process, provided it is conducted with minimum or even at no cost at all, to the Community.
Rivers govt donates intelligence, surveilance centre to Police
Explaining Nigeria’s support for the process, he noted that ECOWAS Parliament can only fulfill its true mandate when it has a set of directly elected and dedicated Members.
“I believe that a member of the ECOWAS Parliament, not drawn from serving members of Parliaments of Member States, would be a good step towards injecting our regional integration with new energy and initiative,” he said.
The Nigerian leader reaffirmed Nigeria’s commitment to ECOWAS efforts, with the support of partners, to keep the region peaceful, secure, and politically stable, pledging that the country would continue to support the restoration of democratic rule in Mali, Guinea, and Burkina Faso.
“We are convinced that the sustenance of democracy and the rule of law should remain the norm in this promising region. There will be multiple political activities in some ECOWAS Member States, including Nigeria, where general elections are due to be held in February and March 2023.
“Let me seize this opportunity to reiterate my commitment to free, fair, and transparent elections and smooth transitions. This is one legacy that I want my administration to bequeath, not only to Nigeria but to the region as a whole,” he said.
Citing upcoming elections in Sierra Leone and Liberia, President Buhari declared Nigeria’s readiness to stand by any country in the region that is committed to organising free and fair elections.
The President highlighted that the global economic downturn has deeply affected the economies of member countries and resulted in dire economic hardships for the citizens of the Community.
In this context, the President urged the parliament to perform their sacred responsibility of considering the Community budget with diligence, conscious of the sacrifice of various countries in the payment of community levies.
The President described threats to peace and security, political instability, and the adverse impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our economies as well as the ongoing war in Ukraine as the biggest concerns facing the region.
Buhari assured the parliament that the ground-breaking ceremony of the ECOWAS Commission’s headquarters in Abuja to be constructed by the Government of the Peoples Republic of China will take place on December 5, 2022.
The President who explained that the desire to create an ECOWAS complex, housing the Commission, the Parliament, and the Court all in one arena, led to the delay in the formal take-off of the project, told the Parliament that as a country that believes strongly in regional integration and cooperation, Nigeria will continue to support all ECOWAS institutions domiciled within the country.
Buhari said he had hoped for the completion and formal commissioning of the project before leaving office in May 2023, however, the expansion of the project led to the delay.
