Stakeholders, including gender advocates have said the proposed constitutional amendment bill to reserve parliamentary seats for women could significantly reduce gender-based abuse and violence in Nigeria, if passed into law.
The bill, currently under consideration by the National Assembly, is part of an ongoing constitutional review led by the House of Representatives. It proposes the creation of one reserved Senate seat per state and the Federal Capital Territory (37 in total), one additional seat per state in the House of Representatives (another 37), and three seats per state in each State House of Assembly, all to be contested exclusively by women.
Nigeria currently ranks among the lowest globally in female political representation, with women occupying less than 5% of seats in the federal legislature, despite making up nearly half of the country’s population. There are arguements that the lack of women in governance contributes to the systemic neglect of issues like sexual violence, maternal health, education for girls, and social protection.
Read also: UN advocates more female representation, reserve seats for women at Assemblies
Speaking at a press conference in Abuja on Monday, Abiodun Essiet, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Community Engagement (North Central), emphasised that gender-based violence has persisted partly due to the chronic underrepresentation of women in government.
She argued that when more women are in leadership position budgets will be tailored to issues that affect both men, women, children, and gender issues that have stalled overall national development will be brought to the fore.
“That’s the necessity of this bill, not about what we gain”, she stressed.
The briefing was convened by the TOS Foundation, which is coordinating support for the bill across more than 100 organisations nationwide.
Osasu Ogwuche, executive firector of the TOS Foundation and a leading voice behind the Reserved Seats for Women campaign, described the bill as a historic opportunity to restructure Nigeria’s democracy on more equitable terms.
“The Reserved Seats for Women Bill is not just another policy,” Ogwuche said. “It is a reckoning. A recalibration. A revolutionary act of justice.”
Ogwuche recounted the progress made since public hearings were held across the country earlier this year. She announced that the bill now enjoys the formal endorsement of the Senate President, the Speaker of the House, and bipartisan leadership from both chambers of the National Assembly.
According to Ogwuche, advocacy efforts have mobilised over 10 million Nigerians across all 36 states and the FCT, with record-breaking turnout reported at the zonal hearings in July. She added that formal partnerships have also been signed with the Nigerian Governors’ Forum and the Spouses’ Forum, creating what she described as “the largest bipartisan grassroots coalition ever focused on a single constitutional reform.”
The bill is scheduled for its third reading in October. If it passes both chambers of the National Assembly, it will proceed to the State Houses of Assembly and ultimately to the desk of President Bola Tinubu.
“Let us be clear. his is not a ‘women’s issue, it is a nation-building imperative. When countries invest in women’s political leadership, they gain stronger economies, safer communities, and more resilient democracies”, Ogwuche said.
She called on citizens to increase pressure on their lawmakers and urged the President to endorse the bill decisively once it reaches his desk.
