Month: October 2022

President Paul Kagame on Tuesday, October 11, 2022 opened the 145th Inter-Parliament Union (IPU) in Kigali calling on lawmakers to make a difference in achieving gender equality and ending genocide ideology through collaboration. Kagame said that though Rwanda has made progress in bridging the gender gap, gender inequality is a shared responsibility and men have a duty to speak up and not just be bystanders.

“All over the world, parliaments exist to protect the interest of citizens. This objective cannot be met without before and active participation of women in our parliament’s, especially in leadership positions,” Kagame said. President Kagame said that gender equality is better achieved when there is acknowledgement that it is a right for anyone everywhere and that women are the backbone of resilient and peaceful societies.
And in Rwanda, women played a critical role in the Liberation struggle, remain a fundamental part of transformation journey with the many participating in peacekeeping operations across the African continent. Currently, Rwanda is doing well on implementation of gender policies with women’s parliamentary representation now at 60% in the Chamber of Deputies and 39% in Senate and has made progress in women empowerment in leadership roles at the grassroots, education, business, sciences and ICT among others.

Kagame said that despite steady gains, inequality between women and men continues to be widespread and that setting quarters take us a step closer to equal representation but this does not address the full spectrum of inequalities in society at large. “One thing, however, is certain, the fight against gender inequality is a shared responsibility and men have a duty to speak up and not just be bystanders,” he stated adding that this is particularly important to combat the negative perceptions of some men who sustain the status quo.

Kagame lamented the fact that genocide denial under revisionism are fast becoming a growing threat to peace and security globally of which social media is partly responsible, but with the fact that hate speech and the misinformation have existed for a long time. To deal with this, he said that collaboration between parliaments is needed to deal with all of these challenges to criminalize all forms of dehumanization and racism worldwide.

On the topical issues selected for discussion at the IPU- Peace, Democracy and Cooperation; Kagame said these are very important and no individual country, no region and no part of this world that can claim to have it all, therefore, suggesting that it starts with walking on democracy, walking for peace. “If we don’t do it through cooperation, I don’t think we can achieve anything,” Kagame said noting that this because problems that affect peace are seen in some in some parts of Africa and across the world thus a need to work together.

“I think we need to work together more and more, and not have people who assume that they have it all and they can tell others what they should be doing. It doesn’t work like that. It’s not the reality of this world believe in all of us,” Kagame said.

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President of the Inter Parliamentary Union (IPU) has said its task force that has done some visitation since the Russia and Ukraine war broke out would meet Parliamentarians from both countries, trying to forge for solution to the crises at the 145th Assembly being held in Rwanda. According to him they are in Rwanda currently where there is global turbulent and instability, Rwanda has had its challenges but has come out very strong after a time of death and destruction.

“I was touched to visit the general site museum and the contribution of the parliament on reconciliation of Rwanda is an example of dialogue, often time when there is division they bring the country together and bring the national community together. We need to do same with the international community, we have a lot to learn from Rwanda today in Kigali”, he said at a press briefing on Tuesday, October 11, 2022 in Kigali after the opening of the Assembly.

As they have welcomed over one thousand delegates, nearly six hundred members of parliament, from one hundred countries, some eighty speakers and deputy speakers, the strong participation shows that the time for diplomacy for dialogue and networking for building bridges. “We also have delegations from countries who are at war and we are bringing them together around one table to talk and keep good communications open and do away with spirit of division, envisage from the IPU founding fathers. We are waiting to have a meeting with the Russian and Ukraine parliamentarians”.

On his part, the Secretary General, Martin Chungong emphasised the need for global parliamentarians to apply itself to the global conflict as this issue came up in their discussion with President Paul Kagame.“There are conflicts in Africa that they need to address, Ethiopia, Sudan, Somalia and West Africa. In the area of political instability IPU is a global organization and can forge ahead by providing global solutions and look into challenges faced by parliaments and see how collectively they can help address them, he added.

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Secretary General of the Inter Parliamentary Union (IPU) Martin Chungong at the opening of the 145th Assembly in Rwanda Kigali bemoaned the states of military take overs on the African continent and cited Burkina Faso which suffered its second military coup. According to him as a community of democrats, the IPU cannot condone any assumption of power by military force.

And further afield, the Sahel region is facing threats to its peace and security, becoming a hotspot for terrorism and organized crime, alongside numerous other challenges. The IPU’s Call of the Sahel initiative, which is aiming to attract new ideas and new supporters during this Assembly, is meant to be their response to this dire challenge. “I am sure we will all be keen to lend our support to this endeavor, needless to say, the tensions and conflicts simmering on the continent are undermining democratic institutions”.

He further pointed out in his address on Tuesday, October 11, 2022 that unstable and compromised democracies are holding back the socio-political and economic development of our societies. A coup d’état is never the appropriate response to instability or terrorism. The right of the people to freely express themselves through elections must be safeguarded above all else. Again, the parliamentary community has gathered in Kigali and they must apply themselves to addressing the devastating consequences on the global community of the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine.

“We cannot afford to overlook or move the spotlight away from the many emerging crises in the part of the world where we are gathered today: Africa. I therefore launch a clarion call for all of us to put our best foot forward and strive to identify dynamic and innovative solutions to bring back lasting peace, discourage military responses to instability, and support sustainable development throughout Africa”.

Also parliamentarians must express solidarity with their colleagues in Africa working to preserve security and democracy, show their support for multilateral mechanisms striving for peace and harmony, give their backing to parliaments that have chosen the path of democracy and the rule of law, and ensure that parliaments across the continent always keep the best interests of their populations at heart.

As peace is the only solution and the time for peace is now, “I intend to propose that the IPU’s Governing Bodies consider forging a new partnership with the indigenous institutions on the African continent – the African Union and Pan-African Parliament, as well as the regional integration bodies such as ECOWAS, CEMAC, SADC among others – to identify pathways for addressing Africa’s chronic instability, which is seriously hampering democracy and by extension the well-being of the continent”.

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Nigeria lawmaker on the ticket of the ECOWAS Parliament, Hon Bamidele Salam attending this year’s Inter Parliamentary Union (IPU) 145th Assembly in Rwanda Kigali said the Community Parliament’s women empower drive is in with the current ongoing IPU Assembly. According to him for the Parliament to allocate a budget for female empowerment in its 2023 budget is a positive development.

He said this in an interview in Kigali on Tuesday, October 11, 2022 at the opening of the IPU 145th Assembly meeting on the theme, “Gender equality and gender-sensitive Parliaments as drivers of change for a more resilient and peaceful world”. He further pointed out that in developing countries, there is not enough inclusiveness of women in the various parliaments;

“I met my colleagues from the Zambia, female parliamentarians and they were regretting that almost every year this number keeps decreasing, the ration to men and women in parliament”. Unfortunately, Hon Bamidele Salam noted that they have similar situation in Nigeria; so for the ECOWAS to take up that as the challenge, dedicate session and budget to women is in line with the global thinking, attending this conference would accentuate that theme in the ECOWAS Parliament, he added.

Hon Bamidele also pointed out that he supports the idea of getting more women at least ten (10) into the next ECOWAS Parliament as his country prepares for a general elections in February, next year. “I am committed to some legislation that currently came to the Nigerian Parliament; I would say I was one of those who voted in support of those proactive legislations in the parliament even though we did not get the number, it did not pass through but at least I was counted as one of the numbers”.

This is one thing that one would gladly do as we go forward, the challenges are diverse and economic, culture, religious issues coming up at the point of elections, so if you do not have enough numbers in the national parliament it would be difficult to put forward enough numbers to the regional parliament. Because one feeds the other, so that is where the challenges come from, so I am hoping with the degree of advocacy going on now in the next cycle of elections in Nigeria, we would have more females in parliament.

“So for us, to enrich the ECOWAS parliament with the Nigeria delegation to have a minimum of ten, like you rightly asked, out of the 35 coming to represent Nigeria in the ECOWAS Parliament”. As to whether sensitization is going on well in Nigeria, he responded in the affirmative, stating that a lot of women and organization and their male counterparts are pushing that agenda and hopes it would yield results in the next cycle of elections.

On his takeaway at the end of the Assembly, he noted that, it would help deepen the engagement at the national parliament and the population on the need to push for women empowerment. “Incidentally, today is the international day of the girl child that raises the tempo of the discussion around this topic, and I hope at the end of the meeting the engagement would get deeper”, he added.

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A member of the Nigerians delegation to the Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS) Parliament, Awaji-Inombek Abiante is confident the brouhaha that has surrounded the parliament’s recruitment would definitely see an end. He, however noted that, the problem can best be resolved only if the recruitment process is satisfactory to all the parties involved.

“There should be due process making the entire thing transparent; there should be sense of justice”. “Whether in capital letters, small, Spanish or Portuguese, English and French you do not pick and choose; some people want to make themselves heroes, but we prefer the hero to be the parliament; let ECOWAS Parliament be the hero, there have been seeming resemblance of injustice over the years”.
He said this in an interview on his way to catch a flight to Nigeria in Lome Togo, after he moved a point of order to halt the Ad-Hoc Committee set up by the speaker in consultation with the Bureau to investigate alleged unjust recruitment at the Parliament, working against Nigerians. “We have some persons claimed they have worked in the Parliament for ten (10) to twenty (20) years, they have never earn promotion and the insinuation is that some people want to be recruited; I do not understand why people would imagine to support such a process”.

Additionally, he pointed that there is a comprehensive review of an audit and few things were recommended; “why are we running away from that audit route, let us look at it, whoever is not favored is not favored”. And from that point onwards things would be done rightly as no one is interested in anything different as due process and procedure should be followed, “that is all”.

Furthermore, he added that the Community Parliament has a lot to do in the wake of the recruitment brouhaha, that has engulfed it, stating that there is the need for capacity building to enhance the capacity of the parliament.

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As Nigeria heads to the polls February next year for its general elections, one out of the two females representing the country despite the fact that Nigeria has thirty-five (35) representations to the Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS) Parliament, Lynda Chuba Ikeazu says the narrative would change in the next Parliament.
According to her they would make a very strong case for the leadership of Nigeria to make way for at least ten (female) lawmakers in the sixth Community Parliament as they look forward to more women to be part of the Parliament.
She made the disclosure at the just ended second Extraordinary Session in Lome – Togo, during which the ECOWAS Parliament made a budgetary allocation for the 2023 fiscal policy, for Female Parliamentary Association (ECOFEPA) on the theme, “unleashing the potentials of women and youth in politics and Entrepreneurship”.
Madam Lynda Ikeazu noted that the budgetary allocation to ECOFEPA would assist them in their activities, as they plan to bring women across the West African sub-region next month, to converge at one location and train them.
“Because this is all about training and mentorship for them to understand what it takes to be in politics, or whatever field they so choose to, ECOFEPA, we would move away from symposiums”, she added.
She singled out Senegal as an example, having succeeded in securing spots for a lot of women in their National Assembly.
Though she recognised the task ahead of them is a difficult one, she was hopeful they can come out with a workable strategy to push through with their objectives. “Let us face it, it is not going to be easy, but we going to ensure we file all national governments; we device ways to push forward other women because no one is going to pretend that the terrain is not difficult.
Again in Africa, be it culture or whatever that has put women in the disadvantage, they have to work on that; and every country is different, “so we have to look inward and determine what best way to use to address this; whether we are going to use political parties, National Assemblies to make legislations that would make it easier for women to participate in the political field”.
She further emphasized, just anything they can do to make sure they have a level playing field with their male counterpart. Again, “let us face it, we are not going to have a complete level playing field but something very close to a level playing ground that is what we are going to aim to achieve”, she emphasized.
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The Parliament of the Economic Community of West African States has allocated funds to the ECOWAS Female Parliamentarians Association Network (ECOFEPA) as part of its contribution to address issues confronting women and youths as well as to enhance participation of women in Leadership in the Sub-Region,

Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament Rt. Hon. Sidie Mohamed Tunis disclosed this in his opening remark at the ECOFEPA Women and Youth Leadership Symposium, with the team “Unleashing the Potentials of Women and Youth in Politics & Entrepreneurship” in Lome, Togo.

The speaker said “I am happy to observe that this Association has always demonstrated resilience and determination to succeed in its noble cause to promote leadership and empowerment for African women and youths.

Since its formation, ECOFEPA has championed the cause for the effective participation of women in the political process, with the aim of increasing their proportion in high-profile positions in the ECOWAS Sub-region.

The ECOWAS Parliament remains committed to working with ECOFEPA and other civil society organizations to achieve your targeted goals.

As a demonstration of this commitment, the Parliament has allocated funding for ECOFEPA programs and will continue to provide the moral support to push you further, I, therefore, assure you of my personal support, in every way possible, to help you achieve the success you desire.

To ensure that women and youth have the full equality they deserve, the Speaker charged the members of the women’s Caucus to be more trenchant in their network.

Every woman here knows or has experienced the difficulty in bringing women into the fold of political participation across our continent – from the grassroots up to the highest offices.

Women’s participation in politics, especially at the grassroots level, remains an issue of great concern and the level of involvement of women in governance at the top still falls below the policy requirement of 30 percent affirmative action.

In overcoming the multiple challenges which African women are confronted with, it is vital that there be trailblazers such as ECOFEPA that strives determinedly for all our women to be empowered.

We are seeing progress in African women’s participation in politics, no doubt, although not at the levels we expect.

Full political participation will become a reality for women when access to participatory institutions at all levels is considered a right; and when women no longer feel compelled to wage campaigns and stage protests to have a say in the decisions that affect their lives.

“Special focus must be directed at educating, capacitating, and empowering women and young people who, despite certain gains, continue to lag behind men in access to education, resources, and opportunities. I believe to whom much is given, much is expected”, he said.

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The First Vice President of the Economic Community of West African States, Female Parliamentary Association (ECOFEPA), Sen. Biodun Olujimi said the body will push for qualitative legislation that will lead to the empowerment of women and youths across the Sub-region.

She said this at the opening of the ECOFEPA Women and Youth Leadership Symposium with the theme “Unleashing the Potentials of Women and Youth in Politics & Entrepreneurship” in Lome, Togo.

Sen. Olujimi who is also one of the Nigerian Delegation to the ECOWAS Parliament stated that women and youths empowerment of the ECOWAS Community is key in availing them with opportunities to participate in creating new frontiers for the political landscape of the Sub-Region.

“ECOFEPA gave the female Parliamentarians of ECOWAS the opportunity to use the collective mandate to empower women and youth through qualitative legislation, representation, and participation in the sub-region.

“As we know, development, diversity and inclusion all go together, the phenomenon that has a high indication that when women and young people are in the representative leadership and key decision-making body they bring about the bracket of changes.

“To say the least, evidence of repeated success on this matter is bound in many countries, especially developed countries such as Norway, Iceland, and New Zealand. May I also add that these are some of the Countries with the happiest people in the World, this means that women make the world happy.

She added that ECOFEPA will key into the regional body’s vision 2050 to achieve their desired objective.

“With the new ECOWAS vision 2050, which aims to create an integrated community with strong institutions that respect fundamental freedoms, inclusive and sustainable development, the ECOFEPA mandate is more important than ever”, she said.

The Nigerian lawmaker further said one of the five key pillars of the ECOWAS vision is social inclusion with the strategic objective being to create a community of people fully inclusive of women, children, and youths.

She, however, urged her fellow parliamentarians to take action by promoting inclusion as well as strengthen social cohesion, gender diversity for social development and progress.

“It is no secret that there is the insufficient political representation of women and youth in the sub-region.

“A huge part of this leadership symposium is therefore to create awareness and interest among our participants, this will help bring solutions to the limited representation facing groups who will lack sufficient models to look up to, thereby naturally, a career in politics and leadership seems less attainable and attractive.

“There is no understanding of the fact that we need to break this circle, we need to show the women and youth the full range of options available to them and bring them to optimum awareness of their potential, this will no doubt bring us closer to the ECOWAS that we earnestly deserve”, she said.

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Ghana’s Ambassador to the Republic of Togo H. E. Kofi Mensah Demitia hosted members of the Ghanaian delegation to the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Parliament on Wednesday, October 5, 2022 at his residence.

The Ghanaian delegation is currently in Lome the Togolese capital attending, the Second Extraordinary meeting of the Community Parliament which started on Monday, October 3, 2022 and ends on Friday, October, 7 2022.

Being a budget meeting, lawmakers as part of their work programme are to adopt the report of the Ad Hoc Committee that prepared the 2023 budget for the Community Parliament.

Ambassador Mensah Demitia, welcomed the delegation and noted that there is a cordial relation between the Ghanaian President H. E. Nana Akufo-Addo and his Togolese counterpart H. E. Faure Gnassingbe.

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The President of the Republic of Togo H. E. Faure Gnassingbe has stressed on the need for a common commitment towards working together in achieving peace and Security in the West African sub-region. According to him there are a number of challenges affecting the sub-region, hence encouraging cooperation to drive acceptable solutions for West Africa.
He made this remarks on Thursday, October 6, 2022 when the Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament Rt. Hon Dr Sidie Mohamed Tunis paid a courtesy call on him, in Lome where the second  Extraordinary Session of the parliament is being hosted.

During their meeting, the Honorable Speaker took note of the good relations between the ECOWAS Parliament and the Republic of Togo, and the prospects for their further consolidation. Dr. Tunis then lauded His Excellency Gnassingbe  for the important role he is playing to promote peace, security and development in West Africa and his integral initiatives that are geared towards the restoration of stability in Mali, Guinea and Burkina Faso.
“It was a great honor to meet with the President of the Republic of Togo,” Speaker Tunis said. He expressed his gratitude to the government and people of Togo for hosting the ECOWAS Parliament and for the enormous support received.

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