Member of the ECOWAS Parliament and Deputy Minister-designate for Fisheries, Musah Abdul Aziz Ayaaba, has called upon West African leaders to refrain from altering their constitutions and instead peacefully transfer power when their terms conclude.
Abdul Aziz Ayaaba, also serving as the Member of Parliament for Moon, emphasized that this practice would foster peace within the ECOWAS subregion.
During his vetting by Parliament’s Appointment Committee, the Deputy Minister-designate for Fisheries and Aquaculture Development highlighted the importance of adhering to the existing ECOWAS charter on democracy. He stressed the necessity for ECOWAS member states to uphold the charter to promote good governance and peaceful democratic norms.
Abdul Aziz Ayaaba expressed his concerns, stating, “What I would say about the situation is that in the subregion, there is a challenge. But there were structures in place even before I joined ECOWAS. There is a chatter of democracy that the ECOWAS States have signed onto. Violation of this chatter is mostly the problem in the sub-region,” Abdul Aziz Ayaaba said.
“If you look at all the countries where we have these issues, there were some
constitutional amendments or changes with regards to the term of office of their
presidents, that led to all these crises. So, Mr. Chairman, what I would appeal is that all ECOWAS States or all the countries in the community must go by the charter of democracy; we must stick to whatever our constitution is saying. When your term of office is over, you just need to hand over peacefully, so that development and peace will continue,” he added.
Abdul Aziz Ayaaba underscored the significance of respecting constitutional provisions and peaceful transitions of power to uphold stability and progress in the region.