The Parliament of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has made history by electing Memounatu Ibrahima as its first female Speaker.
The Togolese representative was elected at the 2024 Second Extraordinary Session of the Sixth Legislature of the Community Parliament in Kano State, North-West Nigeria.
Memounatu’s election was a result of the rotation of the speakership of the Community Parliament in alphabetical order, in accordance with the provision of the Supplementary Act on Enhancement of Power. She has been a member of the Parliament since 2021 and previously served as the third Deputy Speaker in the fifth Legislature.
Prior to her emergence as Speaker, Nigeria’s deputy Senate President, Jibrin Barau, acted as Speaker at the inauguration of the Sixth Legislature of the ECOWAS Parliament on April 4, 2024. The Togolese Delegation was notably absent during the inauguration.
With this new development, the regional legislature is now poised to face the enormous tasks ahead of it under the leadership of its first female Speaker.
