Senator Ita Enang, Nigeria’s ambassador-designate and former Senator for Akwa Ibom North-East, has advocated for the direct election of ECOWAS Parliament members by their respective countries, rather than relying on the current part-time nomination system.
Senator Ita Enang, a former Senior Special Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on National Assembly Matters and Nigerian ambassador-designate, highlighted this position during the ongoing ECOWAS Parliament’s 2026 First Extraordinary Session and Seminar in Abuja.
the seminar focuses on the theme: “Deepening Regional Integration through the AFCFTA: Opportunities and Challenges for Expanding Intra-Community Trade.”
In his presentation titled “Parliamentary Oversight, Legislative Reforms and Implications of AFCFTA for Intra-Community Trade within ECOWAS,” the ex-lawmaker called on ECOWAS leaders to urgently adopt the proposal for direct elections of ECOWAS parliamentarians.
Enang specifically urged the ECOWAS Commission and the Authority of Heads of State and Government to address with the required seriousness the matter of electing ECOWAS Members of Parliament directly from their respective countries, rather than through the current indirect or part-time arrangements.
He explained that the existing part-time system for the ECOWAS Parliament places excessive demands on representatives from member states, who are already heavily committed to their national assemblies. As a result, they can only give limited and inadequate attention to regional parliamentary duties.
“Directly electing ECOWAS parliamentarians from each country would significantly improve the quality of legislation,” he argued. “Assigning overburdened national lawmakers to handle regional matters is simply ineffective and counterproductive.
“These representatives are frequently occupied with critical national issues, such as budget processes and their core responsibilities as elected officials in their home countries.
Consequently, they lack sufficient time to devote to the ECOWAS Parliament, which operates on a part-time basis while their primary roles in national legislatures demand full-time commitment, he added.
Enang proposed the inclusion of a sunset clause in the relevant protocols, allowing each ECOWAS member state a transitional period of at least one year to organize and conduct direct elections for its representatives to the ECOWAS Parliament.
He emphasized that the ECOWAS Commission and the Authority of Heads of State and Government should establish a shorter, more focused sunset period of six to eight months, during which member states would hold these direct elections for ECOWAS parliamentarians.
Additionally, Enang recommended mandating that at least 30 percent of the elected delegates be women. This measure, he argued, would promote gender mainstreaming and ensure greater female participation in decision-making processes at both national and regional parliamentary levels.
The former lawmaker stressed that the key requirement remains strong political will from member states. They must actively secure the commitment and cooperation of all relevant stakeholders to overcome resistance and successfully implement direct elections for regional parliamentarians in their respective countries.
Enang further explained that the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government possesses the flexibility to determine the logistics of these direct elections.They could opt for a single-day election conducted simultaneously across all West African member states, or spread the process over a period of up to one month, he noted.
Enang emphasized that the elections could be held through universal adult suffrage, fully aligned with the electoral laws and procedures of each individual country.
