PARLIAMENT HAILS ECOWAS PROTOCOL ON REMOVING RECALCITRANT LEADERS
25-01-2017
Parliament has hailed ECOWAS for entrenching democracy in the sub-region by taking steps to force the defeated former President of the Gambia, Yahya Jammeh, out of power.
The consensus was at the heels of an earlier admission of defeat on December 9, 2016 by his major opponent, Adama Barrow, in the December 1, 2016 elections.
Speaking on the floor of the House, Hon. Alexander Kwamena Afenyo-Markin, MP for Effutu presented a statement in which he lauded the efforts made by ECOWAS by sending Presidents of the sub-region to persuade the embattled President to step down honorably.
He referred to the high powered delegation including President Johnson-Sirleaf, Buhari, Mahama of Ghana and Alpha Conde' to ensure that "the protocol on the Mechanism for Conflict Prevention, Management, Resolution. Peacekeeping and Security" was fully enforced.
Supported by his confreres in the chamber, speaker after speaker were full of praises that the ECOWAS protocol on conflict resolution and compliance of Jammeh's removal there were assurances that leaders would continue to ensure that democracy thrived in the sub-region and the whole continent.
Deputy-Majority leader, Hon. Adjoa Safo, pointed out that the move had averted the mayhem that would have followed a power struggle, with women and children being the worst affected while freedom and development suffered a set-back.
Other Members praised the efforts of Ghana's Presidents, to date for their various roles in promoting and ratifying this protocol. It would be recalled that after much persuasion and pressure on Jammeh to respect the will of the people, he departed from the Gambia for Guinea Conakry on 21st January 2017, amidst fears that he had looted some $11million from the state coffers.
