The impasse of power struggle within the House of Representatives has reached a boiling point where the international regional body , Economic Community of West Africa (ECOWAS) has become concerned.
The power tussle at the House of Representatives, believed to be a national embarrassment has led to an expected involvement of ECOWAS.
ECOWAS is one of the major regional bodies that has gotten interested in the ongoing political battle currently at the house of Representatives.
To address the impasse, The Economy Community of West Africa (ECOWAS) has sent a communication to embattled House Speaker Cllr. J. Fonati Koffa, informing him about its visit.
In the communication written to Speaker Koffa, ECOWAS informed the him that a team of Delegation will be in Liberia beginning November 11.
While ECOWAS acknowledges that Liberia has recently recorded impressive benchmarks in respect of consolidating the gains of the return of peace, security, and democratic systems in the Member State particularly with the smooth transition of power in November 2023, the institution is concerned about the present political impasse at play in the Liberian House of Representatives.
The Regional Body believes the impasse is threatening to mar collective community effort to maintain peace and security in a fragile region that is equally raffled by the aftermath of coups d’état in four Member States and the exit threats of three of the four.
Base on what ECOWAS believes as fragility, a directives were issued by His Excellency President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, in his capacity as the current Chairman of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State, to seek an immediate parliamentary resolution to House parliamentary crisis through Community Parliament.
“Mr. Speaker, as Head of the Community Parliament, I am honored to inform you that by virtue of the Supplementary Act relating to the Enhancement of the Powers of the ECOWAS Parliament adopted on 17 December 2016 by the ECOWAS Authority, the Institution is empowered, to contribute to the promotion of peace, security and stability in the West African region”., the letter indicates.
The communication sent to the Speaker included: “It is in this regard that the ECOWAS Parliament wishes to undertake a parliamentary mediation mission to Monrovia, from 11 to November 2024.”
According to the communication, the delegation will consist of a 5-member-delegation with the objectives of gathering the root causes of this impasse at the House of Representatives and its implications on the stability of the Member State.
It is also expected that the delegation will engage with key stakeholders to find a peaceful resolution of this impasse, proposing concrete recommendations to the ECOWAS Authority, the Liberian Authorities, and all stakeholders with the view of maintaining political stability and cohesion in the Member State.
“As the central figure related to the impasse at the House of Representatives, I humbly request for an opportunity to have a working visit with you and my delegation to engage in frank and constructive discussions on this pertinent issue and to collectively arrive at an acceptable and amicable resolution to the matter at hand.”
