A Joint Committee of the ECOWAS Parliament, led by Nigeria’s House of Representatives Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu, is holding an oversight delocalised meeting in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, from August 12 to 19.
The theme of the event is “The Role of the ECOWAS Parliament in Community Budget Formulation and Monitoring.”
The Joint Committee was constituted to execute oversight activities on administration, finance, budget, public accounts, macroeconomic policy, and economic research. The main objective is to facilitate parliamentary deliberations on budgeting and equip members to carry out oversight functions over ECOWAS programs and activities.
Members of the Joint Committee will be sensitized by resource persons and stakeholders from relevant technical directorates of the ECOWAS Commission and civil society organizations. The Committee on Administration, Finance, and Budget is responsible for matters relating to the adoption of the community budget, financial management, and assessing the effectiveness of community financing mechanisms.
The ECOWAS Parliament has 115 seats and 14 standing committees. Each of the 15 member states is guaranteed a minimum of five allotted seats, with the remaining seats distributed in proportion to each country’s population. Nigeria has 35 seats, followed by Ghana with eight seats, and Côte d’Ivoire with seven seats. The remaining member states have between five and six seats each.
