The Economic Community of West African States Parliament has appointed Mr. Bertin Somé as its new Acting Secretary-General.

The appointment was made by the Speaker of the Parliament, Mr. Sidie Tunis, and announced in a statement issued on Saturday in Abuja.

Mr. Somé, who previously served as Director of Parliamentary Affairs and Research, assumed office on November 1, replacing Mr. John Azumah, who retired from active service of the community.

Speaker Tunis formally presented the Acting Secretary-General to the staff of the parliament on November 20 in Abuja. During the ceremony, the speaker praised Mr. Somé’s human, managerial, and other qualities, including his sound knowledge of the workings of the institution.

A Burkinabe national, Mr. Somé joined the ECOWAS Parliament in September 2009 as a Committee Clerk and was appointed Director of Parliamentary Affairs and Research in February 2016.

Throughout his tenure in these positions, he demonstrated a keen attention to detail, particularly in his interactions with staff and members of the parliament.

Prior to joining the Community Parliament, Mr. Somé had a successful and longstanding career in the National Assembly of Burkina Faso, where he held various positions, including Director General of Legislative Services, Reporting Director, and Chief of Staff to the Speaker of the NASS.

The ECOWAS Parliament comprises 115 seats and 14 standing committees, with each member state guaranteed a minimum of five seats. 

The remaining 40 seats are distributed in proportion to the population of each country. Consequently, Nigeria holds the largest number of seats with 35, followed by Ghana with eight seats. Côte D’Ivoire and Burkina Faso have six seats each, while Guinea, Mali, Niger, and Senegal are allotted five seats each. 

The remaining ECOWAS Member States, namely Benin, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Togo, each have five seats.