Published: February 18, 2025
Monrovia – The most senior Liberian lawmaker at the ECOWAS Parliament, Senator Edwin Snowe, has stated that the regional legislative body will not adhere to the recent decision by the majority bloc of Liberia’s House of Representatives to recall its members.
Senator Snowe emphasized that the ECOWAS Parliament operates independently and is not bound by the internal decisions of Liberia’s House of Representatives. As a result, efforts to recall Representatives Moima Briggs-Mensah, Taa Wongbe, and Samuel Enders will not be enforced at the regional level.
During the 8th-day sitting of the second session, the plenary, under the leadership of Speaker Richard Koon, ruled that the three lawmakers be withdrawn from the ECOWAS Parliament. The decision followed a formal request from Representatives Johnson S.N. Williams and James Kolleh, who argued that the appointments were made unilaterally by Speaker Cllr. Fonati Koffa without plenary’s approval. They further contended that the selections did not reflect appropriate political representation and violated ECOWAS protocols.
In response, Senator Snowe called on the majority bloc of the House of Representatives to refrain from using internal disputes as grounds to recall the lawmakers. He urged that such issues be addressed within Liberia rather than taken to the ECOWAS Parliament.
Senator Snowe also appealed to President Joseph Boakai, urging him to remain neutral and not be drawn into what he described as an unconstitutional recall of the three lawmakers. He noted that even the current Chairman of ECOWAS, Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, lacks the authority to carry out such a recall, underscoring that Liberia’s internal parliamentary conflicts should not be imposed on the regional legislative body.
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