The ECOWAS parliament has pledged regional assistance to Nigeria in the fight against Boko Haram insurgents and the rescue of the over 200 schoolgirls abducted from their dormitory in Chibok, Borno State.
Parliamentarians at the first ordinary session held in Abuja on Monday said destabilisation of Nigeria by the insurgents would mean destabilising and violating growth and development in West Africa.
They stressed the need for regional leaders to strengthen cooperation and mutual assistance to fight the insurgents threatening regional development.
The first ordinary session of the third legislature of the ECOWAS parliament was convened to consider and adopt the draft agenda and activity plan of the parliament towards tackling and resolving issues affecting the growth and development of the sub region.
Top on the agenda of the meeting was the issue of insecurity and a case in point, ‘the abduction of the Chibok girls’ and the threat of Boko Haram Insurgency to the growth and development of the sub region.
The speaker of the ECOWAS parliament, Mr Ike Ekweremmadu and the Vice President of Ghana, Kwesi Attah, stressed the need to tackle the insurgency in Nigeria before it spreads to other countries.
However, the Vice President of the Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS) Commission, Mcintosh Toga, pointed out that fighting the war against terrorist in the region could only be successful with a strong integration and coordination among countries in the sub-region.
“An attack on one is an attack on all and winning the fight against insurgency in Nigeria is winning a crucial fight against insecurity in the sub region,” the parliamentarians agreed.
