The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Parliament has elected its first female Speaker, Memounatou Ibrahima.
The Togolese was chosen as the new Speaker during the 2024 Second Extraordinary Session of the Sixth Legislature in Kano, North West Nigeria.
Her election follows the alphabetical rotation of the speakership as stipulated by the Supplementary Act on Enhancement of Power.
The previous Speaker of the Fifth Legislature, Sidie Mohamed Tunis, was from Sierra Leone.
Ibrahima was the third Deputy Speaker in the fifth Legislature of the ECOWAS Parliament, which she has been in since 2021.
She is taking up the baton from the Nigerian leader of the 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, 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.
