As a follow up to his appointment as the Secretary General (SG) of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Parliament, in Senegal Dakar February 2018, Ghana’s John Azumah has picked up a top most award among four staff members.
The award is the first ever to be initiated by a Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament.
Speaker of the 5th ECOWAS Parliament, Mr Sidie Mohammed Tunis, in the course of the ongoing First Ordinary Session 2021 in Abuja Nigeria announced that he was going to give awards to staff who had contributed immensely towards the Legislature.
President of the ECOWAS Commission H. E. Jean-Claude Kassi Brou, presented the top award to the administrative head of the Parliament, among four other staff members.
Mr. John Azumah, first worked as Director of Administration and Finance of the ECOWAS Parliament before his appointment as SG.
A graduate of the University of Cape Coast (UCC) and pioneer staff of the Parliament of the fourth Republic of Ghana, Azumah has 16 years of experience before his appointment as SG.
In an interview, he pointed out that this is the first time that a Speaker of ECOWAS Parliament has recognised staff for their hard work and contribution to the running of the secretariat.
“I am humbled, I was not aware I was going to pick up this award during debates in plenary, because I met the Speaker in his office to discuss daily business and there was no indication of this award”, he stated.
Mr. Azumah noted that the Speaker is a dynamic person who has come with new ways of doing things of which he has just started, to encourage and motivate staff as he said at the beginning of the First Ordinary Session this year.
“I want to say it is a team work, I received this award on behalf of the staff and parliamentary business is a team work. I encourage all staff to put their hands on deck, the good news is that the Speaker said it was going to be a continuous affair and I am hopeful that my staff will be given recognition at the end of the day”, he said.
