ECOWAS Parliament Secretary-General, Abdelkader Dansoko dies at 61

Dansoko was an invaluable treasure in parliamentary practice – Ekweremadu

The Speaker of the Parliament of the Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS Parliament, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, has announced with a deep sense of loss the passing on of the Acting Secretary-General of the Community Parliament, Dr. Cheikh Abdelkader Dansoko in the evening of September 6, 2015 after a brief illness.

He rose to the position of the Chief Communications Officer of the ECOWAS Parliament, an office he occupied until 2013 when he was appointed as the Acting Secretary-General of the Community Parliament.Aged 61, late Dr. Dansoko who hailed from Mali, joined the ECOWAS Parliament in 2002 as the Communications Adviser to the pioneer Speaker of the Parliament, Prof. Ali Diallo also of Mali.

Late Dr. Dansoko is survived by his widow, Mrs. Assita Dansoko and two daughters- Aminata and Habiba.

Meanwhile, the Speaker, Senator Ike Ekweremadu who is deeply saddened by the death, has described the incident as a grievous loss not only to the deceased’s family and the ECOWAS Parliament, but to the ECOWAS Community in general.

He said: “Late Dr. Cheikh Dansoko was an easy-going professional and an invaluable treasure in parliamentary practice and institutional memory. In particular, he was a purposeful manager of resources who worked so hard towards the enhancement of the powers of the ECOWAS Parliament, a project that was sadly yet to be realized before his death.”

The Senator who also doubles as the Deputy President of the Nigerian Senate, condoled with the late Dansoko’s family, the Government and people of the Republic of Mali, the ECOWAS Parliament family, and the entire ECOWAS Community.

He prayed God to grant the deceased a peaceful repose and support the bereaved with the inner strength to bear the irreparable loss