House of Representatives has passed for a second reading, a bill aimed at amending the constitution to create additional legislative seats for women in National and State Assemblies.
Gatekeepers News reports that the bill was jointly sponsored by Deputy Speaker, Ben Kalu and 12 others.
The bill proposes creating one senatorial seat and one House of Representatives seat in each state and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) exclusively for women.
It seeks to amend Sections 48 and 49 of the Constitution, becoming effective after current National Assembly’s term and subject to review every 16 years.
The bill also seeks to amend Section 91 to allocate three special seats for women in each state’s House of Assembly, distributed across the three senatorial districts of each state.
Leading the debate, a co-sponsor and representative of Lavun/Mokwa/Edati Federal Constituency in Niger State, Joshua Gana argued that the proposed law addresses significant imbalance and under-representation of women in National Assembly and sub-national levels.
He noted that the bill is based on fundamental principle of equitable representation and it aims to empower women by ensuring their voices contribute to shaping the legislative landscape and national development.
The representative also noted that gender equality and representation are core to constitutional democracy.
Gana further emphasised that despite Constitution guaranteeing equal rights, women’s representation in the legislature remains alarmingly low. He noted that in the 7th, 8th, and 9th Assemblies, women accounted for only 6.4%, 6.1%, and 2.7% of the Senate, respectively, and 6.4%, 3.05%, and 4.7% of the House of Representatives, respectively.
He said, “These statistics underscore the urgent need for proactive measures to ensure equitable representation and amplify the voices of women in our legislative houses at both national and sub-national levels.”
Gana added that the amendment is rooted in fairness and inclusivity.
