Former Nigerian Senator Advocates Direct Election into ECOWAS Parliament

By Bakary Tourey Jr.

Former Nigerian Senator, Dr. Ita Solomon Enang, has called for the direct election of members into the ECOWAS Parliament, proposing that such an arrangement include a sunset clause limited to one year, as originally conceived in the 2016 Act.

Senator Enang made the call on Tuesday, during the ongoing extraordinary session and seminar of the ECOWAS Parliament in Abuja.

He spoke while delivering a presentation on the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), outlining opportunities and challenges in expanding intra-community trade within the ECOWAS region.

Addressing lawmakers, Enang explained that free trade agreements – whether bilateral or multilateral – are designed by nation-states to promote economic cooperation by creating incentives, eliminating barriers, regulating tariffs, and establishing favourable conditions to enhance mutual economic relations.

He cited examples of trade blocs such as the United States-Mexico-Canada trade arrangement, the European Union comprising 27 European nations with a common tariff regime and open-border trade, the Southern African Development Community (SADC), and the African Continental Free Trade Area.

According to him, such agreements are structured to provide clear, transparent and predictable rules governing trade in goods and services, competition policy, investment, and intellectual property among state parties.

He noted that they are also designed to address the challenges posed by multiple and overlapping trade regimes in order to ensure policy coherence, including in engagements with third parties.

Enang further stated that these agreements reaffirm the right of state parties to regulate within their territories, while allowing flexibility to pursue legitimate policy objectives in areas such as public health, safety, environmental protection, public morals, and cultural promotion.

Citing Article 1(1) of the AfCFTA Agreement, Enang explained that ECOWAS is formally recognised as one of the eight Regional Economic Communities constituting the AfCFTA framework, alongside blocs such as the Arab Maghreb Union (UMA) and the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA).

“This provides the legal and legislative foundation that grants the ECOWAS Parliament oversight jurisdiction over AfCFTA implementation within member states, which is the focus of this seminar,” he stated.

He added that regional economic communities (RECs) are recognised as building blocks toward the full implementation of the AfCFTA.