ECOWAS Parliament on verge of electing first female speaker

Parliamentarians from Togo are currently in Kano, North West Nigeria, attending the 2024 Extraordinary Session of the Sixth Legislature of the ECOWAS Parliament.

The Togolese delegation is set to be officially sworn in on Thursday, May 23. Following this, a new speaker will be chosen from among them, in accordance with the parliament's rotational system for the speakership, providing a clear understanding of the parliamentary procedures.

Parliamentary statements revealed that Memounatou Ibrahima, a female parliamentarian, will become the new speaker.

Ibrahima previously served as the third Deputy Speaker in the fifth Legislature of the ECOWAS Parliament and has been a member since 2021.

She is set to succeed Senator Barau Jubrin from Nigeria, who was elected First Deputy Speaker during the inauguration of the Sixth Legislature of the ECOWAS Parliament on April 4, 2024.

Jubrin had temporarily filled the speaker role to prevent a leadership gap in the Community Parliament.

The Republic of Togo's delegation was absent from the inauguration of the 6th Legislature of ECOWAS on April 4, 2024.

This was due to the fact that Togo had not yet held elections to select representatives for the Community Parliament.