Afenyo-Markin hands over as head of Ghana’s delegation to ECOWAS Parliament
The Minority Leader, Alexander Kwamena Afenyo-Markin, on Wednesday officially handed over leadership of Ghana’s Delegation to the ECOWAS Parliament to the Deputy Majority Leader, George Kweku Ricketts-Hagan.
On Wednesday, Alexander Afenyo-Markin officially transferred his position as the head of Ghana's delegation to the ECOWAS Parliament to George Kweku Ricketts-Hagan, the Deputy Majority Leader. The transfer occurred during the 2026 Second Extraordinary Session of the ECOWAS Parliament taking place in Accra. Despite stepping down from his role as the Third Deputy Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament, Afenyo-Markin will retain his membership in Ghana's delegation until 2028.
Afenyo-Markin expressed his unwavering support and cooperation for his successor, emphasizing the importance of continuity and effective representation of Ghana's interests in the region. He called for a more people-centred approach to West African integration, stressing that its benefits should directly impact citizens. Afenyo-Markin highlighted the value of integration in terms of opportunities for young people, ease of movement across borders, and collective ability to tackle shared challenges.
The week-long ECOWAS Parliament session, held from September 21 to 27, serves as the Second Extraordinary Session of 2026. It brings together ECOWAS parliamentarians, government officials, diplomats, international organizations, and civil society. The theme of the session is "Climate Change as a Factor of Environmental Degradation, Population Displacement and Growing Insecurity in the ECOWAS Region."
During his tenure, Afenyo-Markin cautioned against oversimplifying regional conflicts as solely climate change-related issues. However, he acknowledged that environmental pressures could exacerbate existing vulnerabilities such as poverty, competition over land and water resources, and weakened livelihoods. To strengthen the ECOWAS Parliament's work closer to the people, he recalled previous engagements in Liberia in 2019 and Winneba in Effutu in 2021.
He reaffirmed his commitment to the Parliament's objectives and the vision of a more integrated, peaceful, and prosperous West Africa.
Written by urgent.news from MyJoyOnline Ghana's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
This story
This is one outlet's version. Read the fullest account.
