Hon. Emmanuel Kwasi Bedzrah, the Member of Parliament for Ho West and a representative to the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Parliament has issued a rallying call to lawmakers across the region, urging them to take decisive action to reclaim their democratic mandate and rebuild public confidence.
He emphasized that the future of the region hinges not solely on executive decisions, but on bold and visionary leadership from its parliamentary institutions.
“This is not a moment for resignation—it is a moment for leadership. A moment for moral courage. A moment for bold vision. We, the parliamentarians of ECOWAS, must rise to meet this challenge—not just as politicians, but as guardians of our region’s democratic future,” he declared.
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Speaking on the floor of Parliament to commemorate ECOWAS’s 50th anniversary, Bedzrah described the organization’s current state as a “gradual disintegration,” threatening to undo decades of progress in integration, peace, and cooperation.
Bedzrah expressed deep concern over the bloc’s declining cohesion and increasing dysfunction, stressing recent withdrawals by member states, escalating security threats, and institutional inertia as critical indicators of a system on the verge of collapse.
“The very notion of a united, peaceful, and integrated West Africa now appears under siege. ECOWAS is witnessing, perhaps more than ever before, the growing fragmentation because of significant setbacks,” he lamented.
The MP cited the joint withdrawal of Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso, announced on January 28, 2024, and set to become effective in July 2025. He presented this as a clear symptom of widespread dissatisfaction with ECOWAS’s effectiveness and responsiveness.
“Some member states now see ECOWAS as slow to act or detached from the lived realities of ordinary citizens. Others feel its mechanisms are skewed toward political elites,” Bedzrah stressed.
The Ho West MP also painted a picture of the worsening security situation across West Africa, listing terrorism, drug and human trafficking, maritime piracy, and violent extremism as persistent and destabilizing forces.
According to him, these threats are not only costing lives but are diverting scarce resources away from vital sectors like education, healthcare, and infrastructure adding, “It’s a vicious cycle of poverty and insecurity.”
He criticized the failures of both national and regional parliaments, including ECOWAS itself, for lacking the capacity, political will, and independence to effectively confront these issues.
“In too many instances, national parliaments have been sidelined, weakened, or co-opted by narrow interests. The ECOWAS Parliament itself has lacked the teeth to act decisively,” he noted.
He pointed to the recent high-level convening in Abuja, themed ‘ECOWAS at 50 – Reform or Disintegrate: Which Pathway for the Regional Bloc?”* and reiterated calls for a stronger legislative mandate for the ECOWAS Parliament.
The 50th anniversary, he said, should not just be a celebration of the past but a recommitment to a united, democratic, and prosperous West Africa.
Hon. Bedzrah urged the Speaker of Parliament to refer the statement to the Parliamentary Sub-Committee on Foreign Affairs for further deliberation and presentation to the ECOWAS Commission in line with the bloc’s 50th anniversary.
“Let this golden jubilee be remembered not as a time of decline, but as the beginning of our renewal,” he concluded.
The emotional address has since sparked renewed conversations on the need to revitalize ECOWAS through legislative empowerment and a reinvigorated commitment to regional solidarity.
By Osumanu Al-Hassan/thenewsbulletin24.com