Business
CSO Urges Withdrawal Of Funding To ECOWAS
A Civil Society Organisation (CSO) has called on the Federal Government to “immediately withdraw funding’’ to the Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS).
The Abuja-based CSO, Citizens Advocacy for Social and Economic Rights (CASER), made the call in a petition dated April 6 and addressed to the Minister of Foreign Affairs.
The Executive Director, CASER, Mr Frank Tietie, signed the petition a copy of which was made available to newsmen in Abuja.
Tietie hinged the call on alleged undue influence of ECOWAS machinery by the Chairman of the sub-regional body and President of Liberia, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.
Indications to this effect, according to him, include the recent suspension of the Vice President of the ECOWAS Court, Justice Micah Wright, from judicial service in his home country, Liberia.
Tietie said the suspension of Wright’s law licence in Liberia was politically motivated and intended to provide a base for his removal from the bench of the ECOWAS Court.
Wright was suspended for 12 months by the Supreme Court of Liberia in February over alleged fraud, according to media reports.
But Tietie believes the judge is a victim of witch-hunt by the Liberian president, “who has a political axe to grind’’ with him.
He said Johnson was trying to use her current position as Chairperson of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government to “unduly influence and compromise’’ the ECOWAS judicial machinery.
“It should be noted that the suspension of law licence of an ECOWAS Court judge is inconsequential since his work as a judge of a transnational court transcends any restrictions imposed on him by a member state.
“The Liberian authorities fail to realise the transcendental nature of the ECOWAS Court but have chosen to exploit the ECOWAS chairmanship of President Ellen Johnson to pursue a political ambition.
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