Civil Society Coalition Urges National Assembly To Pass Women’s Reserved Seats Bill.
A coalition of civil society organisations (CSOs) has called on the National Assembly to urgently pass the Reserved Seats for Women Bill, asserting that Nigeria stands to gain an estimated $22.9 billion by ensuring full political participation for women.
The call was made during a media briefing in Abuja on Tuesday, where the coalition launched a nationwide campaign pushing for the passage of the bill. The group emphasised that the proposed legislation is not an act of tokenism, but a necessary corrective policy aimed at dismantling decades of structural barriers that have kept Nigerian women on the margins of political leadership.
Key members of the coalition include the Chief Executive Officer of TOS Group, Osasu Igbinedion Ogwuche; the Chief Executive of Connected Development (CODE), Hamzat Lawal; the Special Adviser to the Deputy Speaker on Youth and Women Affairs, Joy Akut; and the Director of TOS, Kingsley Sintim.
The House of Representatives had last year passed the bill for second reading. Sponsored by Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu and 12 other lawmakers, the bill seeks to amend Sections 48, 49, 71, and 117 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) to create special legislative seats exclusively for women in both the Senate and the House of Representatives — one for each state and the Federal Capital Territory.
Additionally, the bill proposes an amendment to Section 91 of the Constitution to provide three dedicated seats for women in each of the State Houses of Assembly. These measures are intended to take effect after the current National Assembly term ends, with a review period every 16 years.
Speaking at the event, Ogwuche decried the fact that women currently occupy less than four per cent of seats in the National Assembly. She highlighted that the bill represents a long-overdue effort to rectify systemic gender imbalance in Nigerian politics.
“The Reserved Seats for Women Bill aims to correct centuries of political exclusion by ensuring a minimum number of legislative seats for women across Nigeria’s federal and state assemblies,” she stated.
The coalition stressed that the time for action is now, urging lawmakers to rise above partisanship and prioritise inclusivity and progress by enacting the bill into law.
