PHOTO: Visiting ECOWAS Parliamentary delegating meeting Liberian Senators at the Capitol Building
Capitol Hill, Monrovia– -A six-member ECOWAS Parliament delegation visiting Liberia today concluded a consultative meeting with the leadership of the Liberian Senate, a Senate dispatch said here on Tuesday, November 12, 2024.
The delegation is in the Country to mediate in the leadership crisis that has engulfed the House of Representatives almost a month now.
But the “majority bloc” trying to remove Speaker Fonati Koffa has welcomed the visit of the mediation delegation, but the group meeting in the Joint Chambers at the Capitol Building said they will only meet the team if Bomi County Senator Edwin M. Snowe is not part of the delegation.
They claimed that Sen. Snowe, who is one of Liberia’s representatives to the ECOWAS Parliament, has taken side in the ongoing House leadership crisis by supporting embattled Speaker Koffa. But Sen. Snowe did not immediately react to the “majority bloc” allegation on Tuesday.
ECOWAS delegation briefs Senate on their mission
Briefing the leadership of the Senate, the head of delegation and speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament, Hon. Memounatu Ibrahima extended warmest gratitude from the ECOWAS Parliament to the Liberian Senate for the hospitality accorded the delegation since it arrival in Liberia, said a press release from the Senate.
The ECOWAS speaker, who spoke through an interpreter, said the presence of the delegation in Liberia is predicated upon a mandate from the ECOWAS Parliamentary body and the ECOWAS Commission.
The Speaker of the delegation is in Liberia to seek clarity about the conflict in the House of Representatives and to mediate between the two groups for an amicable solution to the long standing crisis which is an overall objective of the delegation.
In a special remark, Senate Pro-tempore, Nyonblee Karnga Lawrence, welcome the delegation and expressed gratitude to the delegation.
She informed the visiting delegation that although the Legislature is a bi-camera one with separate rules, what affects the House of Representatives also affects the Senate Chambers, as such there was a need for peace in the House of Representatives.
She said, the Liberian Senate also attached similar interest in the resolution of the impasse as evidenced by a recent mediation Committee set up by the Liberian Senate.
ProTempore Lawrence said she hopes that the committee will report on or before the end of this week.
Other members of the visiting delegation include, Hon. Barau J Jibrin, Deputy Speaker, Hon. Ballay G, Tunkara, Hon. Nassirou Bako Arifan and Hon. K Bartin SOME, among others.