The deputy spokesperson of the House of Representatives, Hon. Philip Agbese, and three other Nigerian lawmakers, were at the weekend, inaugurated into the extraordinary session of the sixth Parliament as members of the Pan African Parliament (PAP) in Midrand, South Africa.
Those inaugurated alongside Agbese included Senator Saliu Mustapha, Prof. Lilian Obiageli Orogbu and Hon. Mukhtar Zakari Chawai.
The ceremony, which was officiated by Hon. Lucia Dos Passos, the PAP’s Acting President, followed elections in several African Union (AU) member states and rotation within delegations.
Other new members were from Benin, the Central African Republic, Côte d’Ivoire, Eswatini, Ghana, Lesotho, Mauritania, the Saharawi Arab Republic, Sierra Leone, Uganda and Zimbabwe.
Also known as the African Parliament, the PAP was set up to ensure the full participation of Africans in the economic development and integration of the continent.
Comprising five representatives from member states, the goal is to share ideas on how to solve problems and challenges facing the continent.
The Parliament has up to 275 members representing the 55 AU nations that have ratified the protocol establishing it (five members per member state, including at least one woman, and representing the diversity of political opinions in their own national parliament or deliberative organ).
Under Rule 7(2) of the PAP Rules of Procedure, a parliamentarian’s tenure of office begins when he or she takes the oath of office or made a solemn declaration during a PAP plenary session.
A parliamentarian’s term corresponds with his or her national parliament’s term or to that of any other deliberative organ that elected or designated the parliamentarian.
This proportionate representation ensures that smaller countries have the same rights, access and opportunities to be heard and to participate in African affairs.
The Extraordinary Session closes on Wednesday, March 27, 2024, when the Nigerian delegation is expected to return to the country.
