The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) has named President of the Nigerian Senate, Godswill Akpabio, as a member of the Preparatory Committee for the Sixth World Conference of Speakers of Parliament 2025.

A statement by the Special Assistant on Media to the Senate President, Jackson Udom, said that Akpabio’s nomination was contained in a letter signed by the General Secretary of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), Martin Chungong and addressed to the Senate President.

The nomination letter reads: “I wish to congratulate you upon your nomination as a member of the Preparatory Committee for the Sixth World Conference of Speakers of Parliament (2025) and to invite you to a first meeting of the Preparatory Committee at IPU Headquarters in Geneva on 16-17 May 2024.

“As you are aware, every five years since 2000, the Inter-Parliamentary Union has convened a World Conference of Speakers of Parliament. The Conferences are organized in close cooperation with the United Nations and aim to reinforce the parliamentary dimension in the work of the UN and to bridge the democracy gap in international relations.

“At the recently concluded 148^th IPU Assembly, further to consultations with Member Parliaments and the Geopolitical Groups, the composition of the Preparatory Committee for the 2025 Speakers’ Conference was endorsed by the IPU governing bodies.

“I expect that three meetings of the Preparatory Committee will be held between May 2024 and the Speakers’ Conference which is tentatively scheduled to take place from Wednesday 30 July 2025 to Friday 1 August 2025 and preceded by the Summit of Women Speakers in Bern on Tuesday 29 July.7.

“Preparations for the Speakers’ Conference are spearheaded by a Preparatory Committee composed of some 20 Speakers of Parliament, a select number of representatives of the IPU Executive Committee, and the senior representative of the UN Secretary-General”.

The release stated further that, “The Preparatory Committee usually meets four times during the 18-month preparatory period, with the fourth and final meeting taking place on the eve of the Conference.”

Other members of the committee include: Dr. Tulia Ackson, President of the IPU; Mr. Brahim Boughali, President, National People’s Assembly, Algeria; Ms. Carolina Cerqueira, Speaker, National Assembly, Angola; Mr. Adama Bictogo, Speaker, National Assembly, Côte d'Ivoire; Mr. Godswill Akpabio, President, Senate, Nigeria.

Others are: Arab Group, Mr. Rachid Talbi El Alami, Speaker House of Representatives, Morocco, Ms. Hamda bint Hassan Al-Sulaiti, Deputy Speaker, Shura Council, Qatar, Asia Pacific Group, Mr. Milton Dick, Speaker, House of Representatives, Australia, Ms. Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury.

The rest are, Speaker, Parliament, Bangladesh, Mr. Zhao Leji; Chairman, National People’s Congress, China, Eurasia Group, Mr. Alen Simonyan, Chairman National Assembly, Armenia, Ms. Sahiba Gafarova, Chairwoman, National Assembly, Azerbaijan Group of Latin America and the Caribbean, Ms. Victoria Eugenia Villarruel, President Senate, Argentina, Mr. Manzoor Nadir Speaker, National Assembly, Guyana Ms. Marcela Guerra Castillo, among others.

The statement informed the nominees to note that, “At your first meeting in May, you will have an opportunity to engage with fellow Speakers and discuss matters relating to the time and venue of the 2025 Speakers’ Conference, its main objective, general format, themes, and expected outcomes.

“I very much hope that you can join us for this important meeting and look forward to working closely.”

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