Ex-Senate President, Lawan tasks ECOWAS Defence Chiefs on sustaining democracy

The President of the 9th Senate, Senator Ahmad Ibrahim Lawan, has tasked the Defence Chiefs of the 12 countries that are presently members of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), to guarantee the sustenance of ideology wrong the subregion.

The rank of the Economic Community of West African States was antecedently constituted by 15 countries, which included: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, Côte d’Ivoire, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo.

However, successful 2024, Niger, Burkina Faso, and Mali announced their withdrawal from the bloc, pursuing their suspension from ECOWAS owed to subject takeovers of their respective antiauthoritarian governments.

Consequently, the improvement reduced the fig of ECOWAS subordinate states to 12.

Speaking astatine the 42nd Ordinary Meeting of ECOWAS Committee of Chiefs of Defence Staffs, which was held successful Abuja, astatine the Defence Headquarters, Senator Lawan commended the Defence Chiefs successful attendance for ensuring the information of subordinate states.

He underscored the request for the respective parliaments to enactment ECOWAS done the support and proviso of resources needed to warrant the information of countries successful the West African subregion.

Senator Lawan, who presently Chairs the Senate Committee connected Defence, further tasked the Defence Chiefs with moving to guarantee that ideology was returned to countries taken implicit by subject regimes.

He said: “Let maine authorities that we request to guarantee that ideology continues to flourish successful our subregion.

“We are challenged astatine this clip by immoderate of our countries that person gone retired of antiauthoritarian administrations. We indispensable ne'er get bushed of doing immoderate we request to bash to guarantee that ideology is returned to those countries.”

Senator Lawan, portion thanking ECOWAS for re-electing President Bola Tinubu arsenic Chairman of the bloc astatine the 65th Ordinary Session of the Authority of Heads of State and Government, said that the National Assembly volition proceed to prioritise issues of security, arsenic good arsenic springiness its afloat enactment to each institutions of ECOWAS wrong its borders to reciprocate the enactment extended to Nigeria by subordinate states.

“We, the Nigerian parliament, arsenic always, correspond our radical successful the ECOWAS Parliament and ever spot information astatine the beforehand burner.

“We volition ever enactment the ECOWAS parliament connected our portion due to the fact that we judge that our information and information beryllium besides connected the resources disposable and approved by america for institutions similar this.

“Finally, I privation to instrumentality this accidental to convey ECOWAS arsenic a assemblage for giving a 2nd mandate to our beloved President, Senator. Bola Ahmed Tinubu, for an further year.

“We judge that it is due to the fact that of the spot that ECOWAS countries person successful the president, that is wherefore helium has been fixed this.

“And for america arsenic a parliament successful Nigeria, we volition proceed to enactment Mr. President and, indeed, each institutions of ECOWAS wrong our borders, to guarantee this one-year is done successfully,” Lawan said.

Ex-Senate President, Lawan tasks ECOWAS Defence Chiefs connected sustaining democracy