ECOWAS Parliament, Nigerian Government Hold Talks On Abidjan-Lagos Corridor … Strengthen democratic partnership

The ECOWAS Parliament and the Nigerian Government have held discussions on how the West African region can exercise control over the smooth implementation of the Abidjan –Lagos corridor, which aims to boost economic activities across five cities in the region.

Indications to this development emerged when the Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament Rt. Hon. Memounatou Ibrahima, paid a visit to Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Yusuf Tuggar in Abuja on Friday to seek bilateral partnership with the Nigerian government to facilitate the project.

Speaking to reporters after meeting with the Minister, Ibrahima, who was accompanied by the Fourth Deputy Speaker, Billay Tunkara; Secretary General, Mr. Bertin Some among others, noted that the bilateral partnership with the Nigerian government is also to seek support for other projects being implemented by ECOWAS, especially on how they will benefits citizens of ECOWAS.

The 1,028-kilometer Abidjan-Lagos Corridor Highway is a transnational coastal highway connecting Côte d'Ivoire to Nigeria. The project is designed to cross through Ghana, Togo, and Benin and is expected to connect an urban population estimated to reach over 170 million people by 2050.

Construction work on the project is planned to commence in 2026 and complete in 2030 and it will trigger high economic and industrial activities, supporting growth in major sectors, improving connectivity between urban and rural areas, promoting cross-border trade while making economies within the region more competitive.

Ambassador Tuggar told reporters after the meeting that the ECOWAS Parliament as the democratic representation of the people is central to the economic and developmental strides of the region, adding that the Abidjan-Lagos corridor is one project that will put the region on the pedestal of economic growth and development.

He said “ECOWAS Parliament reinforces the representation of the citizens of the member states.  It further shows commitment towards constitutional governance and representation because West Africa is one of the fastest growing parts of the world in terms of demography, so we need to pay close attention to that.”

The two sides also discussed modalities to improve education, enhance technology, boost innovation, and empower the youth through diverse development policies and programmes  so that they can make valuable contributions to the building better economies  for West African countries.

The discussions also centered on regional partnership for democracy which was launched in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) recently and the whole idea is for each of the member states to adopt the regional partnership for democracy as a way of strengthening the democratic interpretation.

Ambassador Tuggar lauded the regional legislature as an important organ of ECOWAS, saying “democracy does not exist without a parliament and today we are honored to host the Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament, Memounatou  Ibrahima.

“Democracy does not have a single ownership, does not have a single template or format, it is interpreted based on the culture and mores of each country, and here in Africa, we have our own interpretation.  We are strengthening democratic institutions and the Parliament has agreed to help us with advocacy on that.”