Nigeria’s Deputy Senate President, who is also the Speaker, Parliament of the Economic Community of West African States, Ike Ekweremadu, on Thursday in Accra, the Ghanaian capital, lamented that terrorism remained a major challenge to the country.
He therefore called on the new Chairman of ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government, President John Mahama of Ghana, to make war against terrorism and youth unemployment the top priorities of his tenure.
Ekweremadu, according to a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr. Uche Anichukwu, said this during a meeting with Mahama at the State House in Accra.
The deputy senate president said, “Ghana is a very important country in this sub-region. In terms of democracy, you hold the light in this sub-region and we believe that emerging as the Chairman of the ECOWAS will spread this light.
“However, our greatest challenges today are terrorism, militancy, and youth unemployment. It is our hope that addressing these challenges would be the top priorities of your tenure.
“We at the ECOWAS Parliament want to assure you of our solidarity and total support as you confront these challenges”.
Meanwhile, Ekweremadu has also stressed the urgent need for “a summit of heads of state and government of both the ECOWAS and the Central African Economic and Monetary Community, to build better synergy and raise the capacity of our member states to combat our common enemies”
He made the call at the opening of a two-day dialogue session on the challenges of border crossing and opportunities for trade and finance for ECOWAS countries being organised by the National Institute for Legislative Studies, Abuja, for members of the ECOWAS Parliament in Accra, Ghana.
The ECOWAS Speaker also emphasised that the ECOWAS Protocols on free movement should go hand-in-hand with adequate infrastructural and human capital capacity to police the borders
