Nigerian lawmaker elected Pan-African Parliament VP
From Onwuka Nzeshi in Abuja, 06.02.2009
Tuesday, June 2, 2009

Former Chief-Whip of the House of Representatives, Honourable  Bethel Nnaemeka Amadi, has been elected the first vice- president of the Pan-African Parliament.



http://odili.net/news/source/2009/jun/2/208.html

The election which was conducted at the 11th ordinary session of the continental parliament in Midrand, South Africa at the weekend, also has  Dr. Ndele Moussa Idris, from the Republic of Chad,  as President.Amadi who is also the current Chairman of the House Committee on Aviation will be supported by Hon. (Mrs.) Mary Mugenye (Uganda) as second Vice- President;  Hon. Laroussi Hammi (Algeria), 3rd Vice-President and Hon. Gumbo Macdonald (Zimbabwe) 4th Vice-President.

The Vice- Presidents were ranked according to the number of votes received and each representing one of the regions in Africa and were elected for a term of three years which is renewable once.

A statement from the  Special Adviser on Media to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr  Kayode Akinmade , said the elections were not only  keenly contested but transparent  and  supervised by a team from the African Union (AU) Commission headquarters in Addis Ababa.

The election of Amadi, a 45 -year old  lawyer and a second term member of the House of Representatives as the First Vice-President of PAP is historic because it would be the first time that a Nigerian legislator would be elected as a presiding officer in the continental parliament.

The Pan-African Parliament was established in March 2004, by Article 17 of the Constitutive Act of the AU as one of the nine organs provided for in the Treaty establishing the Africa Economic Community signed in Abuja in 1991.

The Pan-Africa Parliament was established to give expression to the common vision of a united, integrated and strong Africa and also to provide a platform for African people and their grass-roots organisations to be more involved in decisions and decision-making on the problems and challenges facing the continent.