The Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament, Mémounatou Ibrahima, has called on regional parliamentarians to sustain the tempo of ECOWAS economic integration under the African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement (AfCFTA).

She made the appeal in her closing speech at the end of the regional parliament’s 2026 First Extraordinary Session and Seminar on Friday in Abuja.

According to her, the lawmakers must tirelessly advocate for the ratification and effective implementation of the AfCFTA protocols. 

She said that the MPs must also monitor the harmonisation of national policies with regional commitments. 

In addition, she tasked them on raising awareness among regional economic actors and citizens about the immense opportunities offered by AfCFTA.

“In short, we must be the voice that calls for accountability, the eye that oversees, and the engine that drives it.

“We must make parliamentary oversight a tool in the service of a more inclusive, transparent, and resilient regional integration,” she said.

The speaker stated that the seminar was rich in lessons, but it also highlighted the differences of opinion and legitimate concerns. 

“While the agreement raises great hopes, it has not achieved unanimity,” she stated. 

She said that the MPs were able to grasp the stakes of AfCFTA, and understand the national and regional challenges that must be overcome to derive its greatest benefits.

Ms Ibrahima said some MPs raised legitimate concerns about the challenges facing AfCFTA’s implementation but noted that such reservations did not represent a rejection of integration, but rather a call for action. 

She listed the challenges raised as the persistence of non-tariff barriers, delays in harmonising legal frameworks, infrastructural shortcomings, and the risks of exclusion for women, youth, and informal traders. 

“The challenges remind us that the implementation of the AfCFTA cannot simply be decreed; it must be built, step by step, with our Member States and our economic actors,” she said.

The speaker said that the extraordinary session enabled the parliament to review and adopt its programme of activities for the year 2026.

She said that it is organised around four priorities: cotizens’ participation, institutional strengthening, peace and governance, and facilitation. 

“This is our roadmap for concretely building “a citizen-oriented Parliament,” she stressed.

Ms Ibrahima also lauded the adoption of the 2026 activity programme of ECOWAS female parliamentarians under the auspices of ECOFEPA, adding that women parliamentarians would remain an essential driving force of integration.

She said that ECOWAS was currently shaken by delicate or fragile political transitions, persistent security threats, economic vulnerabilities, and climate emergencies, but the temptation to withdraw would be a mistake. 

“In the face of these multidimensional challenges, our unity and our integration are more than ever shields and bulwarks.

“The ECOWAS Parliament must therefore amplify its voice. 

“It must be the vigilant guardian of democracy and good governance, and the determined catalyst of our region’s economic and social integration,” she said.

The speaker expressed the hope that the powerful ideas expressed during the session would immediately translate into concrete actions, courageous reforms, and more inclusive public policies, in member states.

(NAN)