By Hon. Veronica Kadie Sesay, made the appeal on Thursday during a meeting in Lagos to review the association’s statute and adopt its 2025 work plan. She said lack of funding has slowed down vital programmes meant to empower women in politics.
“We have our own budget, but if we rely only on that, we can’t even run a single programme,” Sesay said. “Bringing members from across ECOWAS countries is expensive, and that’s why we need partners and grants to support our work.”
Sesay reaffirmed ECOFEPA’s goal to push for at least 30 percent female representation in ECOWAS and national parliaments. She said fundraising and partnership-building will be central to the association’s efforts moving forward.
She revealed plans to seek support from influential figures like Sierra Leone’s First Lady and President of the Organisation of African First Ladies, Madam Fatima Maada Bio, to help drive ECOFEPA’s agenda.
Sesay also praised Sierra Leone for achieving the 30 percent women-in-politics target through a Proportional Representation system. She urged other West African nations to adopt similar policies to improve female participation in governance.
