Climate, Migration Crises Expose ECOWAS Parliament’s Legislative Gap – Lawmakers
West Africa’s worsening climate, migration and security crises are exposing a major gap in regional governance, with Nigerian lawmakers calling for stronger legislative powers for the ECOWAS Parliament.
Senators Ali Ndume and Awaji N. Abiante made the call on the sidelines of the ongoing 2026 Second Extraordinary Session and Seminar of the ECOWAS Parliament in Accra, Ghana.
The lawmakers argued that the Parliament’s largely advisory role limits its ability to ensure that recommendations on pressing regional challenges translate into action.
Ndume questioned the practical impact of recommendations that can only take effect after consideration by other ECOWAS institutions.
“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,” he said.
Abiante similarly called for amendments to the legal framework to strengthen the legislative powers of both the ECOWAS Parliament and the regional judiciary.
The debate comes as climate change intensifies pressure on food security, migration, pastoralism, land use and regional security.
Ndume linked environmentally driven movement of pastoral communities to farmer-herder tensions in Nigeria, blaming some of the conflicts on weak regulation, inadequate community engagement and the failure to implement effective livestock management policies.
He called for clearer laws governing livestock movement, land use and resource management, stressing that weak legal frameworks create room for conflict.
The lawmakers said strengthening the ECOWAS Parliament would also make regional lawmakers more directly accountable for the issues they debate and the people they represent.
“Until you give a man responsibilities, you cannot question him on what he has done,” Ndume said.
The week-long seminar is examining how environmental degradation and climate-related pressures are driving displacement and affecting communities and governments across West Africa.
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