Speaker Abbas, Gbajabiamila, Oyewole Emphasize Parliamentary Diplomacy at CoSPAL Assembly in Morocco

Speaker of the House of Representatives of Nigeria, Rt. Hon. Tajudeen Abbas, has emphasized the growing importance of parliamentary diplomacy as a tool for conflict prevention, democratic consolidation, and inclusive development.

Addressing the 3rd Annual General Assembly of the Conference of Speakers and Presidents of African Legislatures (CoSPAL), held in Rabat, Kingdom of Morocco, from 12–14 December 2025, Speaker Abbas stated that legislative leadership in today’s world must go beyond law-making to strategic foresight, stating that African parliaments must work to stabilize democracy.

He said: “Legislative leadership in today’s world must go beyond law-making to strategic foresight, institutional strength and collective African action. Our parliaments must serve as anchors of democratic stability and engines for inclusive growth in an increasingly complex global order.”

In his remarks, the Founder and Pioneer Chairman of CoSPAL who is also the former Speaker of Nigeria’s 9th House of Representatives of Nigeria, and currently, Chief-of-Staff to the President of Nigeria, Rt. Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, CFR reflected on CoSPAL’s origins, stating it was created to provide a leadership platform for the growth of Africa.

“Africa needed a coordinated platform of legislative leaders capable of shaping regional and global conversations”, Gbajabiamila said.

He reaffirmed CoSPAL’s mission as “a pan-African legislative institution for deliberation, coordination, cooperation, and unified action.”

Presenting the CoSPAL Progress Update and 2026 Work Plan, the Secretary-General of CoSPAL, Amb. ’Dapo Oyewole, announced that “African legislative leaders have collectively agreed on a forward-looking work programme that prioritises legislative leadership, capacity building, parliamentary diplomacy, strengthening institutional effectiveness and intentionally advancing women’s leadership, youth participation and social inclusion in parliamentary processes, structures and outputs.”

While thanking the Kingdom of Morocco and Rt. Hon. Rachid Talbi El Alami, Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Kingdom of Morocco, for the hospitality and support in hosting the CoSPAL General Assembly for the first time in North Africa, the Secretary General Oyewole added that: “This shared agenda reflects our resolve to translate high-level commitments into measurable outcomes that enhance legislative leadership and parliamentary diplomacy across the continent.”

He also expressed gratitude to the CoSPAL Chairman and Speaker of Ghanaian Parliament, Rt. Hon. Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, the CoSPAL Founder, Rt. Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila and the Speaker of Nigeria’s House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Tajudeen Abbas for their unwavering support and for being pillars that have sustained the growth and increasing success of CoSPAL.

Earlier in his opening speech, the Chairman of CoSPAL and Speaker of the Parliament of Ghana, Rt. Hon. Bagbin, underscored the urgency for African legislatures to rise beyond traditional parliamentary functions and assume a more strategic role in continental and global affairs.

He noted that “Africa can no longer confine its influence to the walls of its parliamentary chambers. We must step forward as strategic actors in shaping the direction of our continent and contributing meaningfully to the architecture of global governance.”

Bagbin further emphasised that in a fractured global order, “Parliaments are not only law-making bodies; they are institutions of peace, development, accountability and global partnership.”

Convened under the theme “Legislative Leadership and Parliamentary Diplomacy in a Changing Global Order,” the Assembly brought together Presiding Officers of African Parliaments, senior legislators, development partners, international organisations and policy experts at a time of heightened geopolitical uncertainty, democratic fragility and shifting global alliances.

Participants commended the steady institutional growth of CoSPAL under the leadership of its Chairman and the Secretary General, and reaffirmed its role as a unifying continental institution for legislative leadership and parliamentary diplomacy.

The Speakers and Presidents of African Legislatures reaffirmed their collective commitment to democratic governance, legislative leadership and parliamentary diplomacy with the adoption of the ‘Rabat Declaration on Legislative Leadership in a Changing Global Order’.

The leaders reaffirmed their resolve to safeguard democracy, strengthen institutions, and advance Africa’s interests globally.