Posted on March 25, 2021 by Pnafrica
“Hon. Speakers,
colleague MPs, distinguished guests, Sierra Leone, traditionally is a very
friendly and peaceful country, you are all welcome, and consider it as being
home-away-from-home,” Honorable Chernor Maju Bah, Leader of Sierra Leone
Parliamentary Delegation to the Economic Community of West African
States (ECOWAS) Parliament and also doubles as the Parliamentary Caucus
Leader of the main opposition, All Peoples Congress (APC) party in the Fifth
Parliament of the Second Republic of Sierra Leone, remarked in his welcome
statement to Members of the Fifth Legislature at the opening of the
Parliamentary Seminar and First Extraordinary Session of the ECOWAS Parliament
for the 2021 legislative year.
The ECOWAS Parliament
is in Freetown for twin purposes of a seminar on, “Involvement of Members of
the ECOWAS Parliament in the Monitoring and Implementation of the Protocol
relating to the Community Levy,” and, the holding of the First Extraordinary
Session of the ECOWAS Parliament for the year 2021.
Hon. Bah’s assurance
on the peace of Sierra Leone and hospitality of Sierra Leoneans to the
dignitaries of the ECOWAS Parliament's delegation was hinged on the reality
that Sierra Leone was once notorious for diseases, civil strife and
political instability.
Hon. Bah however
told ECOWAS Members of Parliament (EMPs) and other invitees:
“ Our country has over the past few years experienced some upheavals, such as a
brutal civil war, deadly Ebola pandemic, and now COVID-19, but this has not
made Sierra Leoneans lost their genial and friendly disposition.”
The main opposition
APC Party Parliamentary Leader, Hon. Bah told the dignitaries
and invitees that: “ my colleague Sierra Leonean MPs and I have been eagerly
looking forward to this day,” adding that immediately after the inauguration of
the Fifth Legislature and the election of H.E. Hon Sidi Mohamed Tunis in
Niamey, Republic Niger, in March 2021, they started to prepare to welcome the
dignitaries to the first major activity of the Parliament outside of Abuja.
He however, thanked
MEPs “ for unanimously electing our brother, colleague, and our able
representative, Hon. Sidi Tunis, as the Speaker of the Fifth Legislature
of the ECOWAS Parliament.”
Hon. Bah
disclosed that the plan to host the ECOWAS Parliament delegation in Sierra
Leone was disrupted by the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic, adding, “All
the same, we must thank Allah that we have survived and are able to gather here
today for the opening ceremony of the first major face-to-face activity of the
Fifth Legislature of the ECOWAS Parliament."
Hon. Bah
nonetheless reechoed that: “Sierra Leone traditionally is a very friendly and
peaceful country, you are all welcome, and consider it as being
home-away-from-home. Your journey coming to Freetown might have been a little
bit tiring, but you will agree with me that it is a unique experience, as it is
one of the few cities that you can reach by using all three modes
of transportation, road, air, and sea.”
He concluded his
welcome statement by underscoring that: “I implore you to take maximum advantage
of this peaceful, nice, and welcoming generosity of Sierra Leone and its
people. The streets are safe, people are welcoming and accommodating, so don’t
confine yourself to your hotels and meeting halls only, go out and enjoy the
hospitality of Sierra Leone and Sierra Leoneans.”
Meanwhile, the conclusion
(23rd-25th March 2021) of the seminar on Community Levy is to be followed by
the holding of the First Extraordinary Session which is to run from the 29th to
1st April 2021 at the Freetown's International Conference Center,
Bintumani Hotel, Aberdeen, Western Area Urban, Freetown, Sierra Leone.