A civil society organisation (CSO), Reserved Seats for Women Bill Campaign Coalition, has called on the National Assembly to pass the bill before the end of February to ensure its implementation during the 2027 general elections.
National Convener of the coalition, Chief Osasu Igbinedion-Ogwuche, made the call at a roundtable with media executives in Abuja on Wednesday.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the bill, sponsored by the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rep. Benjamin Kalu, seeks to create 74 additional seats for women in the National Assembly and 108 additional seats across the 36 State Houses of Assembly.
Igbinedion-Ogwuche, the Chief Executive Officer of TOS Foundation Africa, warned that any further delay beyond next month would “operationalise a failure” for women’s representation until 2031.
“We know that if this Bill does not sail through by the end of next month, then it cannot be operationalised by the 2027 general elections. We also know that this might be a tactic some people are using to try and delay it. So it’s very important for us to continue to reiterate the importance of passing the bill, and passing it on time.
“It’s very important that women participate in the 2027 general elections, and if they show they have the competence to buy and buy successfully, then they have the opportunity to do that.
“Remember, this is not tokenism. Women with the brilliance and the capacity have tried time and time again to come out, but because of the violence, religion and tradition, most of them are never successful.
“This is why we say we need to create rooms for women who have the appetite for politics to compete against one other. It is not tokenism; it is not an appointment; it’s not handouts; this is a competition; it’s an elective post,’’ she said.
Igbinedion-Ogwuche said that the reserved seats would not be for any particular political party, stressing all the registered political parties would sponsor candidates for the positions.
She decried Nigeria’s current ranking in women’s political participation, particularly in Africa, describing it as ‘the bottom of the barrel’.
“The level of women’s participation in politics in Nigeria is very porous. In Africa, we ran 4 out of 54, the very bottom of the barrel.
“Women make up 50 per cent of Nigeria’s population, but unfortunately, we assume only four per cent of seats in parliament.
“That is, 16 out of 360 members in the House of Representatives are women, and only four out of the 109 senators are women. Across the 36 state assemblies, you have only 51 out of 993 members who are women. In some state assemblies, over 15 of them, you have no women at all. This is actually not a funny matter. In Jigawa State, the chairperson of the Women Affairs Committee is a man. So, we have a lot of work to do,’’ she said.
Igbinedion-Ogwuche said that Nigeria could not legislate for women without them actively participating.
“We cannot talk about infant and child mortality, women’s empowerment, better nutrition for our kids without the people with the live experiences on the table to make this decision,’’ she said.
Noting the past failures of similar bills in the Eighth and Ninth Assemblies, Igbinedion-Ogwuche said that the current advocacy had moved beyond the “lack of consultation” excuse.
She said that the group had secured the “vocal assent” of President Bola Tinubu, the First Lady, Oluremi Tinubu, the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Abbas Tajudeen.
“We have also engaged the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), Nigeria Governors Spouses’ Forum (NGSF) and the All Progressives Congress (APC) Governors’ Chair, Gov. Hope Uzodimma, who promised support once the bill reaches the sub-national level,” she added.
The national convener said that the foundation had also earned some gains in tackling opposition rooted in tradition and religion through its collaboration with the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar, who, she said, had publicly endorsed the bill.
“The sultan emphasised that anyone using religion to subdue women is not in line with the Muslim faith.
“This message has been crucial in engaging the core North and shifting mindsets among conservative lawmakers,” Igbinedion-Ogwuche said.
She highlighted the socio-economic benefits of gender inclusion, citing research from the World Bank and McKinsey, suggesting that including women in decision-making could add 229 billion dollar to Nigeria’s GDP over the next decade.
The national convener urged the media to keep the issue on the front burner through flagship programmes and investigative reporting within the next 30 days to ensure the passage of the bill by the national assembly.
Also speaking at the occasion, the Managing Director of tTOS Group, Mr. Kingsley Sintim, reaffirmed the media’s role as a key ally in driving recognition and public understanding of the reform.
Sintim stressed the need for unified messaging, human-centred story-telling and sustained public education across geo-political, cultural and linguistic divides.
He further highlighted the importance of leveraging social media, broadening citizen awareness and utilising available resources, including fact sheets and the 469Tracker which provides constituency-level insights into the lawmakers’ positions on the bill.
(NAN)
