West Africa: Ecowas Parliament Endorses Eliminating Roaming Charges

19 May 2026
FOROYAA Newspaper (Serrekunda)
By Kebba Af Touray

The ECOWAS Parliament has adopted a resolution seeking to eliminate roaming charges. The regional bloc also adopted a resolution for the adoption of the draft Supplementary Act relating to the protection of personal data within the ECOWAS region.

The resolutions were adopted on Friday, 15th May, 2026, at the end of its First Ordinary Session, held in Abuja, Nigeria, from 4th to 17th May, 2026.

The parliament has resolved to "Issue a favourable opinion for the adoption of the draft Supplementary Act relating to the protection of personal data within the ECOWAS region."

The parliament has indicated its awareness of the aforementioned Treaty, under which Member States undertake to respect, promote and protect human and peoples' rights in accordance with the provisions of the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights.

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The parliament has also expressed that it is mindful of ECOWAS Supplementary Act A/SA 1/01/07 of 19 January 2007, relating to the harmonisation of policies and regulatory frameworks in the Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) sector.

In the adoption of the resolution, the parliament considered that the increasing use of information and communication technologies may be detrimental to the private and professional lives of users.

Furthermore, the parliament also noted that, notwithstanding the existence of national legislation concerning the protection of citizens' privacy in their daily and professional lives and the guarantee of the free flow of information, it is important to address a legal vacuum created by the rise of the Internet as a means of communication.

The ECOWAS Parliament also adopted the resolution and mandated its Speaker to submit this Resolution to the President of the Commission for onward transmission to the Chairman of the Council of Ministers.

Meanwhile, the ECOWAS Parliament also adopted the following resolutions:

On the Regulation on Roaming on Public Mobile Phone Networks Within the ECOWAS Region, considering that the reduction or elimination of roaming charges within the Community will help achieve digital connectivity and further facilitate the integration of people within ECOWAS.

The resolution, according to the parliament, seeks to issue a favourable opinion on the adoption of the draft Regulation on roaming on public mobile phone networks within the ECOWAS region.

ECOWAS Regional Cybersecurity Coordination Mechanism: The parliament considers that the rapid technological advancements, particularly developments in information systems, networks and digital services, have given rise to new forms of criminal behaviour and exacerbated existing threats to the confidentiality, integrity and availability of data and systems.

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