The worsening climate, migration and security challenges across West Africa have renewed calls for stronger legislative powers for the ECOWAS Parliament to enable it to move beyond its largely advisory role and compel the implementation of regional decisions.
The call was made by Nigerian lawmakers, Senators Ali Ndume and Awaji N. Abiante, on the sidelines of the 2026 Second Extraordinary Session and Seminar of the Parliament in Accra, Ghana.
The lawmakers argued that the Parliament’s limited authority undermines its ability to effectively exercise oversight and hold the executive organs of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) accountable at both national and regional levels.
They maintained that strengthening the Parliament’s legal framework would give greater weight to its recommendations and enable it to contribute more effectively to resolving the region’s interconnected challenges.
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“The issue is how the power of the regional parliament can be increased so that they don’t just advise or make recommendations but be able to compel implementation of recommendations,” the lawmakers said.
“The articles have to be amended to give ECOWAS more legislative powers, and to also give the ECOWAS judiciary more powers.”
Ndume questioned the practical impact of an institution whose recommendations remain subject to consideration by other ECOWAS organs.
“Do we have powers outside of advisory? And how many of the pieces of advice rendered have honestly been considered?” he asked, describing climate change as a governance test for the region.
The week-long seminar is examining the growing impact of climate-related pressures on migration, food security, pastoralism, land use and regional security.
Discussions have focused on how environmental degradation and changing climatic conditions contribute to population displacement, as well as the consequences of cross-border population movements for communities and governments.
Ndume linked the movement of pastoral communities from environmentally stressed areas to farmer-herder tensions, particularly in Nigeria, arguing that inadequate engagement with affected communities and herders had contributed to the persistence of the crisis.
He also recalled previous attempts at ranching and attributed their limited progress partly to the lack of political will to take difficult decisions.
“Where there are no good laws and order, there is bound to be crisis,” he said, calling for clearer legal frameworks governing livestock movement, land use and resource management.
The lawmaker said the challenges demonstrated the need for regional institutions with sufficient authority to translate policy discussions into coordinated action across member states.
The ECOWAS Parliament’s existing legal framework assigns it responsibilities in regional integration, peace, security and the enactment of Community Acts. Its 2016 Supplementary Act provides for parliamentary opinions and mandatory assent in specified areas, although its role remains distinct from full legislative authority.
Under the existing institutional arrangement, the Parliament can adopt resolutions and exercise oversight, while some resolutions must pass through other ECOWAS institutions before becoming legal texts for implementation.
The Parliament has previously explained that its resolutions are transmitted to the Council of Ministers, which may recommend them to the Authority of Heads of State and Government for adoption as Community legal texts.
It is this institutional process that concerns the lawmakers, who argued that responsibility and accountability should correspond with authority.
“Until you give a man responsibilities, you cannot question him on what he has done. So, a stronger Parliament will make regional lawmakers more directly accountable for the issues they debate,” Ndume said.
“That is the essence of being a member of parliament, to represent your people, advocate, speak to issues and if possible, hold institutions to account.”