Why we want to amend ECOWAS parliament’s supplementary act — Kalu
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“We’ll see whether they are fit for our purpose or not. When laws become obsolete, they don’t fit into the needs of the dynamic society."
By Mark Longyen
Rep. Benjamin Kalu, Deputy Speaker, Nigeria’s House of Representatives, says the ECOWAS Parliament wants to amend its Supplementary Act so as to entrench the separation of powers and guarantee legislative autonomy.
Kalu disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abidjan, Ivory Coast.
He spoke on the sidelines of a meeting of the parliament’s Joint Committee on Administration, Finance, Budget, Public Accounts, Macroeconomic Policy and Economic Research, of which he is Chairman.
According to him, when laws become obsolete, they outlive their usefulness to the dynamic society, hence, the need to amend them to strengthen the legislature.
He said that if this was not done, it would allow the executive to become the ‘judge in their own case.’
The parliamentarian said that the attendant scenario of weak subregional institutions would culminate in their losing credibility before the international community.
He expressed confidence that the move would get the buy-in of the Authority of ECOWAS Heads of State and Government.
Kalu added that all the member states would want to see it happen.
He said: “Rightly put, we need to amend the Supplementary Act.
“The protocols that brought the ECOWAS Commission and ECOWAS Parliament into existence need to be overhauled.
“This is because these laws are not cast in stones; Indeed, no law is cast in stone.”
He said that the parliament was also looking at the laws controlling the management, the administration and the operationalisation of so many expectations of citizens, who are members of the ECOWAS community.
“We’ll see whether they are fit for our purpose or not. When laws become obsolete, they don’t fit into the needs of the dynamic society.
“We’ll touch them up so that they’ll become proper and we’ll ensure that we get what we are supposed to get.
“So, we are heading towards that because the Supplementary Act does not fully give the independence of the parliament,” he said.
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