PAP needs responsible leadership to move with AU’s Agenda 2063 – Hon. Agbese

A member of Nigeria’s delegation to the Pan-African Parliament (PAP) and Rapportuer of the PAP Committee on Health, Labour and Social Affairs, Hon. Philip Agbese has said that the continental needs a responsible and experienced leadership at this time to move with the African Union’s Agenda 2063 and called on his fellow parliamentarians to ensure a seamless election tomorrow by voting for Hon. Chief Fortune Charumbira.

Hon. Agbese who is the Deputy Spokesperson of Nigeria’s House of Representatives, stated this in an exclusive interview with our correspondent at the ongoing Extraordinary Session of the Pan-African African Parliament to fill vacancies in the Bureau of the Parliament.

He disclosed that the Nigerian delegation as well as the Western Caucus has endorsed Hon. Chief Charumbira as the region’s consensus candidate and called on the other regions join hands with the Western Region to ensure its actualization.

“Chief Charumbira possesses the requisite experience and knowledge to offer our parliament a visionary, purposeful, and competent leadership with the integrity to continue the path of progress and advance our unity of purpose and consolidate on the institutional progress that was made during his tenure as President.”

Hon. Agbese expressed the view that Chief Charumbira is aware of the challenges and pressing issues that lie ahead such as unconstitutional changes in government with its destabilizing consequences. He also observed that our continent is still riddled with developmental challenges with far too many people living in abject poverty, pervasive youth unemployment, rising inequalities of incomes and opportunity, particularly for the youth and women and new examples of intractable conflicts.

In a related development, the Chairperson of the Northern Region Caucus in the Pan-African Parliament (PAP), Hon. Abdelmajid Azzedine  has said that PAP needs to go back to the legality and to its normal functioning by ensuring a hitch-free election tomorrow.

He disclosed that it was imperative to ensure the stability of  the Parliament and its continuity, and carry out its mandate to serve the people of Africa.

“In this context, the Northern Region supports our sister Honourable Messaouda Laghdaf from Mauritania to continue her mission as First Vice-President of the PAP. She has all our confidence and our support. We had already underlined and confirmed our support to her within the Caucus and in the plenary in May 2023 when she came back from election in her country.”

“We also support the Southern region to continue its mandate in the presidency of PAP and we support Hon. Chief Charumbira to resume his position as the President of PAP. For your information, the Speakers of National Parliaments of the SADC-PF met on Thursday 01 February 2024 in Cape town in South Africa and resolved that Hon Chief Charumbira remains the unique candidate of their region in order to complete his mandate as President of PAP.”

 “Once the Southern region completes its mandate in the presidency, it will be the turn of North Africa region to assume the presidency of PAP. We have to be vigilant and mobilized to implement the decision of the AU Executive Council and we should face any attempt which aims to cancel the principle of the rotation and take PAP in another unnecessary crisis” he concluded.