A bill seeking to create additional seats for women in the
national assembly has passed second reading at the house of representatives.
The lower legislative chamber voted in favour of the bill on
Wednesday, aiming to encourage the participation of more women in politics.
The bill seeks to alter some sections of the 1999
constitution that stipulate the composition of the senate, house of
representatives and state houses of assembly.
The proposed legislation would make it compulsory for every
state to have one additional senatorial seat reserved for a woman.
Sponsored by Nkeiruka Onyejeocha from Abia state and 85
other lawmakers, it also seeks to create two federal constituency seats
reserved only for women.
Section 48 (1b) of the bill seeks the provision of “an
additional senator for each state and for the federal capital territory, who
shall be a woman.”
Section 49 (1b) would also provide for “two additional
members for each state and for the federal capital territory, who shall be
women.”
Leading the debate on the bill, Onyejeocha said women occupy
only 4.4% percent of the seats in the national assembly.
“You may wish to note that Nigeria has been identified as
the worst performer in women representation in parliaments, in the West African
region and one of the lowest in the whole of Africa,” she said.
“This is evidenced in the most recent Inter-Parliamentary
Union (IPU) ranking of women in parliaments where Nigeria ranks 179 out of 187
countries worldwide.
“Eritrea is the only African country ranked lower than
Nigeria and this is because there have not been national elections since its
independence in 1993.
“The situation is
worse at the state houses of assembly level, where a good number of our states
do not have a single woman in their state assemblies.”
Onyejeocha said more than 130 countries have adopted
different measures (or quota system) to address women’s under-representation.
“Strikingly, the majority of nations that have adopted
special measures/quota systems are low or middle-income countries – many of
them in Africa,” she said.
The bill was unanimously voted for after it was put to a
voice vote by Femi Gbajabiamila, speaker of the house.
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