History was made on Friday in the faraway oil-rich country of Angola, when the President of the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and Leader of Nigeria’s delegation to the 147th Inter-Parliamentary Union General Assembly in Luanda, Angola, broke a 59-year-old jinx by being elected into the Executive Committee of the global parliamentary body.
The last time a Nigerian was elected to the Executive Committee of the Parliamentary Union was in 1964.
The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) is the global organization of national parliaments founded in 1889 and dedicated to promoting peace through parliamentary diplomacy and dialogue.
It has grown over its 135 years into a truly global organization with 179 country members out of 193 countries worldwide.
The IPU facilitates parliamentary diplomacy and empowers parliaments and parliamentarians to promote peace, democracy, and sustainable development worldwide.
A statement by the Special Assistant (Media/Communication) to the Senate President, Anietie Ekong, said Senator Akpabio was overwhelmingly voted for by delegates across the world to emerge as an Executive Committee member of the Parliamentary Union with headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, for a three-year mandate.
The 147th IPU Assembly was held in Luanda, Angola, from October 21 to 27, 2023, and was hosted by the National Assembly of Angola.
The Union, in the week-long Assembly, deliberated upon important issues affecting nations across the world and considered actions to strengthen trust between people and governance structures, to make public institutions more effective, accountable, and representative, and to better equip parliaments to address the multiple interconnected geopolitical, economic, and environmental crises facing the world.
