By Alieu Ceesay, Elizabeth Chirkpi, Marcelina Ozekhome, Saffiyatu Gefe Massaquoi & Mariam Traore in Freetown, Sierra Leone
The Speaker of the ECOWAS parliament, Hon. Sidie Mohamed Tunis, has bemoaned that Nigeria with thirty five representatives at the ECOWAS parliament, had only two women in the Nigeria delegation to the sub regional parliament.
Specifically, Tunis said that ‘is not really good’ that Nigeria with the highest number of Representatives will parade few women delegation.
The speaker spoke in an interview with the Ecoparl Press Corp in Freetown, Sierra Leone, at the end of 2-day symposium on women proportional representation in politics, organised by the Ecowas Female Parliamentarians Association (ECOFEPA).
He however expressed plans to continue to engage the leadership of Nigeria on change of the status quo.
“I am hoping to engage the next Speaker in the Nigeria National Assembly and the President of the Senate to encourage them to have more women in the Ecowas Parliament.
“We also want to have a special programme just for Nigeria to encourage the stakeholders and the political leadership to ensure that they have more women on their tickets, not just for the National Assembly but for even local government.
Speaker Tunis said the Community Parliament has a whole year Programme, adding that the symposium in Sierra Leone is just the beginning of many to follow, to popularise the idea of 30 percent affirmative action for women.
“We are also going to have another program [a TownHall Meeting] in Abuja before the next Ordinary Session, where we are even inviting MPs from Rwanda to come and share their experiences with us [Ecowas Parliament]. We will also have workshops in member states to ensure that we do not just pass laws, but to see action.”
According to Tunis, the advocacy campaign in Freetown can be organise across the sub-region to have a minimum of 30 percent quota for women.
He recalled that in 2022, through a conversation between the Speaker and the Ecowas Commission, the Parliament was able to secure funding for ECOFEPA’s activities.
