The Parliament of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has elected the first female speaker in the history of the regional legislative arm.
The new Speaker of the Community Parliament, Memounatou Ibrahima, from Togo was elected at the 2024 Second Extraordinary Session of the Sixth Legislature of the Community Parliament in Kano, State, North West Nigeria.
She emerged as a speaker due to the rotation of the speakership of the Community Parliament in alphabetical order in accordance with the provision of its Supplementary Act.
Ibrahima was the third Deputy Speaker in the fifth Legislature of ECOWAS Parliament.
She has been in the ECOWAS Parliament since 2021.
She is taking up the baton from the Nigerian leader of delegation, Senator Barau Jubrin, who was elected the First Deputy Speaker at the inauguration of the Sixth Legislature of the ECOWAS Parliament on April 4th 2024.
He had to act as the Speaker to avoid creating a vacuum of leadership at the Community Parliament.
During the inauguration of the Sixth Legislature of the ECOWAS on April 4th 2024, the delegation of the Republic of Togo was not present because they had not conducted an election to enable the country to send their representatives to the Community Parliament.
