By Hajaratu Kalokoh
Sierra Leone’s Mohamed Sidie Tunis has taken over as Speaker of the Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS) Parliament, after he was formally elected on Monday.
The election held at the Mahatma Gandhi International Conference Center in Niamey, capital of Niger, came at the end of the tenure of Moustapha Cisse' Lo of Senegalese in 2019.
Tunis’ tenure is expected to end in 2024, when Togo is expected to take over the rotating leadership of the regional parliament.
Tunis is a member of the governing Sierra Leone Peoples Party (SLPP), representing Constituency 101 in Pujehun District, Southern Sierra Leone. He is also the leader of government business in parliament.
Tunis and the opposition All People’s Congress (APC) member, Chernor Maju Bah, made their intentions public for the position knowing when it became Sierra Leone’s time to lead the ECOWAS House of Parliament. But Tunis was the administration’s preferred candidate. He was symbolically endorsed by President Julius Maada Bio in a video clip shared on social media.
Tunis assumed his responsibility after been elected Speaker by presiding over the election of four Deputy Speakers, among others. He spoke about the need for youth empowerment and the recognition of ECOWSA single currency. He also called for ECOWAS to be accountable through the establishment of a Public Accounts Committee and to guarantee prudent fiscal management of the Community's funds.
The newly elected ECOWAS Speaker also implored the regional bloc to go closer to the people by utilizing innovative and effective means of communication to reach the very people the Parliament was constituted to represent.
A statement from the Sierra Leone Parliament said a 30-Man delegation from the country, headed by Mr Tunis himself, was present at the occasion.
In his statement, Moustapha Cisse' Lo, the outgoing ECOWAS Parliament Speaker, noted that his tenure was characterized by results.
President of ECOWAS Commission, Jean-Claude Kassi Brou, also said that inclusive social development was the basis of democracy; whiles urging the newly elected Speaker to undertake important initiatives geared towards the realization of the goals of the bloc.
Five members of the Sierra Leone delegation to the ECOWAS Parliament also subscribed to the oath before the Chairman of the Authority of Heads of State and Government and President of the Republic of Niger, Issoufou Mahamadou at the occasion that also marked the installation of the 5th Legislature of the ECOWAS Parliament.
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