Jammeh joins Ablie Suku Singhateh of Lower Baddibu, Lamin Jadama of Niamina Dankunku, Ebrima Solo Jammeh of Foni Bintang Karanai and Haddy Nyang-Jagne of Jeshwang Nam as The Gambia’s representatives at the parliament. Jammeh was sworn in together with eleven representatives from Mali, Guinea Conakry and Sierra Leone.
He commented to The Standard yesterday evening: “My aim is serving the interest of the whole region. The qualification from ‘an Ecowas of countries’ to an ‘Ecowas of peoples’ is very timely because free movement of goods and services is key towards Ecowas integration. The Gambia is a key contributor to the Ecowas fund, and we as Ecowas MPs are always bearing the interest of the country. Even though we represent the whole region, the interest of The Gambia is paramount. We want to make sure The Gambia gets as much as possible from the Ecowas. We will leave no stone unturned to make sure The Gambia gets it dues from Ecowas for the advancement of Gambian people.”
The Ecowas Parliament meets semi-annually, with two ordinary sessions including committee meetings. Extraordinary sessions are also called when the need arises.
He explained: “As of now, we discussed countries reporting on the integration process… The Gambia’s country report was presented at the parliament where we have shown the progresses we have made.” The Baddibu politician is also the vice president of the West African Association of Public Accounts Committee.
The Ecowas Parliament has 115 members. Each of the 15 member states has five guaranteed seats with the remaining shared in proportion to the population of the countries.
As a result, Nigeria has 35 seats, Ghana 8, Côte d’Ivoire 7, while Burkina Faso, Guinea, Mali, Niger and Senegal have 6 seats each. Benin, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Togo have 5 seats each.
Mr Jammeh’s swearing-in coincided with the first ordinary session of the Ecowas Parliament.
By Sainey Marenah
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