Presidential poll: ECOWAS Parliament hails opposition parties for seeking redress in court, By Taiye Agbaje

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The ECOWAS Parliament, on Monday, commended the opposition parties including the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the Labour Party (LP) and three other parties for approaching the court to challenge the Feb. 25 Presidential Election outcome.

It would be recalled that the PDP, LP, Action Alliance (AA), Allied People’s Movement (APM) and Action People’s Party (APP) had, in separate petitions, sued the All Progressives Congress (APC) and its candidate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu; his running mate, Kassim Shettima both of whom emerged as president-elect and vice president-elect after they were declared the winners by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

The aggrieved parties also joined INEC as defendant in the petition

However, speaking during the First Ordinary Session of the Parliament for the Year 2023, the Speaker of the regional legislative body, Hon (Dr) Sidie Mohamed Tunis, thanked the aggrieved parties for not resulting into violence.

“I thank aggrieved parties for seeking redress in the court of law,” he said.

According to Tunis, such is the democracy we crave for and I am grateful that Nigeria, our biggest democracy, is leading by example.

The speaker also congratulated the President-elect, Tinubu, on his election victory.

“I express best wishes on behalf of the membership of the ECOWAS Parliament for his success as he prepares to take up the responsibilities and challenges of his office,” he said.

Tunis, who congratulated Nigeria for the peaceful conduct of presidential, federal legislative, governorship, and state legislative elections, extolled the statesmanship of President Muhammadu Buhari for sticking to his term limit and facilitating a smooth transition to his successor.

He said the parliament is following events in Sierra Leone and Liberia closely, as both countries prepare to hold presidential and legislative elections in June and October respectively.

“On the regional scene, we remain very concerned over the pace at which the transitional processes are unfolding in Mali, Guinea and Burkina Faso.

“We are equally worried about the proliferation of terrorist activities in the Sahel, which has resulted into the killings of innocent lives.

“It is expected that the President of the ECOWAS Commission, during the presentation of his report, would kindly provide detailed explanations on these issues to inform Parliament’s position,” he said.

Tunis stated that the ECOWAS Parliament holds firmly to the belief that its success as a regional body is hinged on effective cooperation with national, regional and international bodies.

“As Speaker, I have made it my responsibility to facilitate strategic cooperations with like bodies of shared interests and values.

“This has, no doubt, positively impacted the Parliament’s visibility and attracted attention to its significance.

“I am, also, very proud to announce that we continue to demonstrate commitment to the cause of women and related programs, perhaps more than every other previous legislature,” he said.

The speaker expressed sadness that after over 20 years since the inauguration of the first legislature, the parliament is yet to achieve its goal of being a full-fledged legislative body.

“Nevertheless, this august body can be very proud of its achievements thus far,” he said.

The President of the ECOWAS Commission, Dr Omar Alieu Touray, expressed concern over insecurity in parts of north-eastern Nigeria, Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso.

He said it was disheartening that this has resulted in targeted attacks against both military personnel and civilians.

He called for a regional adoption of a multifaceted and coordinated approach, and resources to eradicate the scourge.

The President of the ECOWAS Community Court of Justice, Justice Edward Amoako Asante, said the court will continue to faithfully discharge its mandate in support of the regional integration project, even though the enforcement of its judgment remains its Achilles heels.

“In this regard, the court has a record indicating that 106 of its judgments have not been enforced by Member States while another 11 are outstanding against ECOWAS institutions.

“In the spirit of the deepening relations between our two institutions, the interest of the community will be better served if we work together to secure a significant improvement in the level of enforcement of the decisions of the court because of the inherent benefits to our democratic journey,” Asante said.