The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, and the new Speaker of the Ghanaian Parliament, Albert Bagbin have agreed to strengthen parliamentary relations in a bid to find lasting solutions to challenges such as the trade dispute involving some Nigerian traders in Ghana.
The two speakers reached out to each other during a zoom meeting
Gbajabiamila told his counterpart that the two countries are like siblings and should continue to explore the avenue of parliamentary diplomacy in addressing shared challenges, adding that there are much both countries could learn from each other.
The Nigerian Speaker also introduced the project he initiated with five other African Speakers, namely the Conference of Speakers of African Parliaments, saying that last year they worked together to advocate debt relief.
Gbajabiamila further stated that this year, African Speakers and Heads of Parliaments are expected to gather in Abuja to explore how they could work together to tackle collective challenges in the Continent.
While congratulating the Ghanaian Speaker for his success at the recently contested polls, Gbajabiamila said while he worked very closely with the predecessor, he looked forward to doing the same with Bagbin in continuation of the age-long tradition of solidarity between both Nations.
The Nigerian Speaker updated his Ghanaian counterpart on his visit to Ghana late last year in an effort to douse tensions and extract commitments from the Ghanaian Government over the trade dispute.
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Gbajabiamila said he would want the discussions on the matter to continue under the new Ghanaian Speaker.
He also used the opportunity to invite Bagbin to visit Nigeria to deepen the parliamentary cooperation between the two countries.
On his part, the Ghanian Speaker said he welcomes the idea of having a better relationship with the Nigerian Parliament and that he is ready to reciprocate the Nigerian Speaker’s visit for further discussions.
He also applauded NIgeria’s Speaker for coming up with the idea of CoSAP, which he described as a noble project.
The two Speakers agreed it is important to meet sooner and then concluded to meet in Abuja before the first half of this year.
Editor Paul Akhagbemhe
