GAMBIA DELEGATION TO ECOWAS CALLED ON PRESIDENT BARROW

On the sidelines of the 2022 Second Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Parliament, the Gambian delegation to the Community Parliament on Saturday 3rd December 2022 paid a courtesy call on the President of the Republic, His Excellency Adama Barrow.

The President was in Abuja to attend the 62nd ECOWAS Ordinary Session of Heads of State and Government slated for Sunday 4th December 2022. The President was also on schedule to attend the swearing-in of Gambian-born President of the ECOWAS Commission, Dr. Omar Alieu Touray, and the ECOWAS Excellence Award to the former President of The Gambia, Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara, for his leadership in establishing ECOMOG, restoring peace in the subregion, and championing and making Banjul the home of Human Rights.

The Majority Leader and Head of the Gambian delegation to ECOWAS Parliament Hon. Billay G. Tunkara expressed their appreciation to the President on the ascension of a Gambian to the presidency of the ECOWAS Commission.

They called on the President to continue to nurture the bilateral relationship between The Gambia and Nigeria in recognition of protocols by the subregional bloc.

They highlight the high hopes that the ECOWAS Parliamentarians have on Dr. Touray’s Presidency who is but only a few months into his tenure.

The delegation further recalled the diplomatic efforts and initiatives undertaken by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hon. Mamadou Tangara, and his team to ensure that a Gambian won the presidency.

Meanwhile, the Hon. Members also used the occasion to thank the President for identifying the late former President Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara to be recognised and posthumously awarded by the ECOWAS Heads of State.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hon. Mamadou Tangara said that his Ministry was acting under the directive of the President to reach out to all his counterparts to present the Gambian candidate.

In his response, President Barrow noted the need for The Gambia to assume such a crucial position in the sub-regional organisation.
He thanked the delegation for the visit and assured them of his government’s support to the course of diplomacy between The Gambia and Nigeria.