Speaker of the Parliament of the Economic Community of West African States, Dr Sidie Tunis, has ordered that its recruitment process be suspended due to allegations of malpractices.
The Speaker also set up an eight-man independent Ad Hoc Investigation Committee to investigate the allegations.
Tunis gave the directive in a statement issued by the parliament’s Communications Division.
Earlier, the Nigerian delegation at the parliament lamented that the country’s candidates were not treated with fairness in the recruitment exercise, threatening to withdraw its membership.
The speaker had received written complaints from the first Deputy Speaker, Hon. Ahmed Idris Wase and the Permanent Representative of Nigeria to the ECOWAS Commission, Amb. Musa Sani Nuhu.
The duty of the committee, which is expected to start in August 2022, is to do a thorough investigation and report its findings to the speaker within a week.
A bureau meeting will be convened immediately to consider the report for onward submission to the plenary.
The Committee would be headed by Sen. Mohammed Ali Ndume, Chairman of the Committee on Administration, Finance, and Budget.
Other Members of the Committee include, Hon. Lynda Chuba Ikpeazu from Nigeria and Hon. Fatoumatta Njai from the Gambia.
Hon. Amadou Djibo Ali from Niger, Hon. Kounon Nahou Agbandao from Togo, Hon. Caramo Camara from Guinea Bissau, Hon. Moussokora Chantal Fanny from Cote d’ Ivoire and Mr. Arboncana Oumarou Dicko are to serve as Clerk to the Committee.
The statement reads in part, “The Terms of Reference of the Ad Hoc Committee shall be as follows: Investigate allegations of inappropriate conduct in the ongoing recruitment process at the ECOWAS Parliament; Investigate allegations of marginalization of Nigerian Candidates in the current recruitment process.
“The Ad hoc Committee would be guided by the provisions of the Supplementary Act and the ECOWAS Staff Regulations.”