The Parliament of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has expressed strong support for imposing sanctions on member nations that fail to comply with regional trade protocols meant to facilitate cross-border movement and boost economic integration.
The endorsement follows a recommendation presented by Dr. Tony Luka Elumelu of the ECOWAS Business Council Secretariat during a joint committee meeting in Cotonou, Benin.
The delocalized meeting brought together ECOWAS parliamentary committees covering Industry and Private Sector, Macroeconomic Policy, Finance, Budget, Public Accounts, and Administration to address barriers stalling regional trade and the growth of Micro, Small, and Medium Scale Enterprises (MSMEs).
Speaking on the sidelines of the meeting, Nigerian lawmaker Hon. Bashiru Dawodu argued that member states must be held accountable to make regional integration effective.
”We have the laws, and sometimes it’s not a la carte — people have to be pressured to do the right thing,” Dawodu said. “If the countries know that they face sanctions, I think they would do better.”
Dawodu noted that despite West Africa’s population of roughly 400 million people and significant economic potential, member states continue to operate in isolation. He emphasized that integrating the informal sector — which accounts for an estimated 90 percent of regional enterprise — into formal value chains is vital for improving trade data, securing financing, and building infrastructure.
Echoing similar concerns, Liberian lawmaker Hon. Taa Wongbe called on parliamentarians and national governments to strictly enforce existing trade agreements and eliminate persistent road blockades.
Recalling his own childhood experiences traveling between Liberia, Sierra Leone, Ghana, and Benin, Wongbe pointed out that traders today still face the same costly delays that drive up prices for goods across the sub-region.
To address the bottleneck, Wongbe proposed sending an ECOWAS parliamentary delegation on a direct fact-finding mission to regional border crossings to experience the transport hurdles firsthand and pressure national governments for reform.
With parliamentarians and commission officials calling for stricter enforcement, the responsibility now falls on the heads of state of ECOWAS member nations to determine whether to enforce the sanctions necessary to realize a fully integrated West African market.
