Ex-Senate President tasks ECOWAS defence chiefs on sustaining democracy

President of the 9th Senate, Senator Ahmad Lawan, has tasked the Defence Chiefs of the 12 countries that are currently members of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), to ensure the sustenance of democracy within the subregion.

The membership of the Economic Community of West African States was previously 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, in 2024, Niger, Burkina Faso, and Mali announced their withdrawal from the bloc, following their suspension from ECOWAS due to military takeovers of their respective governments. Consequently, the development reduced the number of ECOWAS member states to 12.

Speaking at the 42nd Ordinary Meeting of ECOWAS Committee of Chiefs of Defence Staffs, which held in Abuja, on Wednesday, at the Defence Headquarters, Senator Lawan commended the Defence Chiefs in attendance for ensuring the safety of member states.

He underscored the need for the respective parliaments to support ECOWAS through the approval and provision of resources needed to guarantee the security of countries in the West African subregion.

Senator Lawan, who currently Chairs the Senate Committee on Defence, further tasked the Defence Chiefs on working to ensure that democracy is returned to countries taken over by military regimes.

He said: “Let me state that we need to ensure that democracy continues to flourish in our subregion. We are challenged at this time by some of our countries that have gone out of democratic administrations. We must never get tired of doing whatever we need to do to ensure that democracy is returned to those countries.”

Senator Lawan, while thanking ECOWAS for re-electing President Bola Tinubu as Chairman of the bloc at the 65th Ordinary Session of the Authority of Heads of State and Government, said that the National Assembly will continue to prioritise issues of security, as well as give its full support to all institutions of ECOWAS within its borders to reciprocate the support extended to Nigeria by member states.

“We, the Nigerian parliament, as always, represent our people in the ECOWAS Parliament and always place security at the front burner. We will always support the ECOWAS parliament on our part because we believe that our safety and security depend also on the resources available and approved by us for institutions like this.

“Finally, I want to take this opportunity to thank ECOWAS as a body for giving a second mandate to our dear President, Sen. Bola Ahmed Tinubu, for an additional year. We believe that it is because of the trust that ECOWAS countries have in the president, that is why he has been given this.

“[And], for us as a parliament in Nigeria, we will continue to support Mr. President and, indeed, all institutions of ECOWAS within our borders, to ensure this one-year is done successfully”, Senator Lawan said.