Hon. Mohamed Bangura To Be Sworn-In At ECOWAS Parliament

By Thomas Sankara

Honorable Mohamed Bangura along with other newly elected Lawmakers are  expected to be sworn in as a Members of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Parliament.

The opposition All People’s Congress (APC) party Lawmaker representing the Northwest Karene District of Sierra Leone, Hon. Bangura is no stranger to the unravelling politics in Sierra Leone, having served as former Minister of Information and Communications, National Leader and Presidential Candidate of the United Democratic Movement (UDM) party, Chairman of the All Political Parties Association (APPA), and  Publicity Secretary People’s Movement for Democratic Change (PMDC).

Hon. Bangura first entered the Fifth Parliament (2018-2023)  and was recently reelected to the Sixth Parliament (2023-2028).

The ranking Lawmaker’s political reincarnation came on the heel of Hon. Bangura’s defiance not to comply with his APC party’s decision to boycott all forms of governance over a disputed June 2023 general elections result.

 His decision to ignore his party’s decision not to participate in governance is now a subject of internal party disciplinary investigation.

 Hon. Bangura is the  current  Chairman of the Sixth Parliament of Sierra Leone’s  Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, a member of the Selection, Supervisory,  Appointment and Public Service Committees respectively.

Hon. Bangura only returned to Freetown a couple of days ago having formed part  of the Sierra Leone delegation to just concluded UNGA 78 held at the United Nations Headquarters in New York.

Hon. Bangura is expected to be sworn in alongside another new member of the Sierra Leone Parliamentary delegation, the new  political magnetic of Kono District, Hon. Saa Emerson Lamina,  the Deputy Leader of Government Business Two at the ongoing Community Parliament ‘s 2023 Second Ordinary.

Hon. Bangura replaces Hon. Chernor Ramadan Maju Bah, former Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Head of Delegation and APC Parliamentary  leader who served three terms to hang his legislative boots to concentrate on the presidency. Hon. Saa Emerson Lamina, the former Coalition for Change (C4C) parliamentary leader and Mayor of Koidu City replaces Hon .Ajibola Manley-Spaine, a lawyer and seasoned Lawmaker who served three terms in the Sierra Leone National Assembly.

Hon. Veronica Kadie Sesay, a ranking government MP, former President of Parliamentary Female Caucus and Chairperson of Parliamentary Trade and Industry Committee with three innings to her credit now serves as Head of Delegation, deputized by Hon. Shiaka Sama, a former independent Lawmaker from Pujehun District and MP of the PMDC party that crossed over to the governing SLPP.

 The fifth name on the delegation is the most powerful at the Community Parliament , Hon. Dr. Sidie Mohamed Tunis, Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament.

The ECOWAS Parliament is expected to first convene a seminar on the theme, “The challenges of unconstitutional regime change in West Africa: the role of ECOWAS Parliament,” which is to spann from the 29th September to 1st October, 2023 in Winneba Ghana.

The seminar is to be followed by the Community Parliament ‘s 2023 Second Ordinary Session from 3rd to 7th October, 2023, during which all newly elected MPs would be sworn in.

A media advisory from the ECOWAS Parliament indicated that the main agenda for the  extraordinary Session is the examination and adoption of the 2024 draft budget of the Parliament.

The ECOWAS Parliament is constrained by deficiency in levy payment by Member States, a mainstay of the legislative body’s funding.

Hon. Bangura said upon swearing in at the Community Parliament, issues such as single currency, crossborder trading , communications tariff, amongst other things would be among his thematic areas of focus as it affects a good number of Sierra Leoneans, Guineans, Liberians and other West Africans.