{"id":126724,"date":"2026-04-23T18:57:23","date_gmt":"2026-04-23T17:57:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/?p=126724"},"modified":"2026-04-23T18:57:23","modified_gmt":"2026-04-23T17:57:23","slug":"reps-urge-states-to-back-women-seat-bill-amid-push-for-inclusion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/reps-urge-states-to-back-women-seat-bill-amid-push-for-inclusion\/","title":{"rendered":"Reps Urge States to Back Women Seat\u00a0 Bill Amid Push for Inclusion"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">By Tracy Moses<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The House of Representatives has urged the 36 State Houses of Assembly to support the passage of the Special Seats for Women Bill, as part of ongoing constitutional reforms aimed at strengthening gender inclusion in governance.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The resolution followed the adoption of a motion of urgent public importance sponsored by the lawmaker representing Lagos State, Jesse Onuakalusi, during Thursday\u2019s plenary presided over by the Speaker, Tajudeen Abbas.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Presenting the motion, Onuakalusi described the proposed legislation as a critical step toward correcting long-standing gender imbalance in Nigeria\u2019s political space.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u201cThis bill represents a defining moment for our democracy. It is an opportunity to deepen inclusion, expand representation and strengthen governance outcomes,\u201d he said.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He noted that although women constitute nearly half of Nigeria\u2019s population and contribute significantly to national development, their participation in elective and appointive positions remains extremely low.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u201cWomen remain grossly underrepresented in elective and appointive positions across all tiers of government, with representation persistently below five per cent in elective offices\u2014one of the lowest globally,\u201d he said.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">According to him, the imbalance reflects a deeper democratic challenge that limits the effectiveness of governance.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u201cThis persistent underrepresentation constitutes a fundamental democratic deficit, depriving governance structures of diversity, inclusivity and balanced policy formulation,\u201d he added.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Onuakalusi explained that the Special Seats for Women Bill proposes a constitutionally backed affirmative action mechanism that would create additional seats for women in both the National Assembly and State Houses of Assembly.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u201cThis is a temporary but necessary corrective measure designed to accelerate women\u2019s inclusion while broader structural barriers are being addressed,\u201d he said.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He cited several African countries, including Kenya, South Africa, Burundi, South Sudan and Uganda, where similar policies have significantly improved women\u2019s political participation.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u201cInternational experience has shown that deliberate legislative intervention can transform representation and strengthen democratic institutions,\u201d he added.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Warning of the broader implications of inaction, the lawmaker said Nigeria risks undermining its democratic progress if the imbalance persists.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u201cFailure to address gender inequality in political representation weakens institutional legitimacy, undermines democratic credibility and limits socio-economic development outcomes,\u201d he said.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He further argued that increased female participation has positive ripple effects across key sectors.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u201cGreater inclusion of women improves policy outcomes in healthcare, education, social welfare and economic development,\u201d he said.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The motion was overwhelmingly adopted by lawmakers when put to a voice vote.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Following its passage, the House urged state legislatures to support the bill and ensure speedy concurrence once it is transmitted after passage at the National Assembly.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">It also mandated its Committees on Constitutional Review, Women Affairs and Electoral Matters to expedite work on the bill within a defined timeline.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Lawmakers further warned that failure to pass the legislation would continue to entrench exclusion and weaken Nigeria\u2019s commitments under regional and international gender equality frameworks.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The renewed push comes amid sustained advocacy by civil society organisations and development partners seeking to address Nigeria\u2019s persistently low female representation in politics.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Despite years of democratic practice, efforts to improve inclusion through party quotas and policy commitments have yielded limited results, largely due to structural, cultural and financial barriers.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Proponents of the bill insist that without deliberate legislative intervention, meaningful progress on gender inclusion may remain slow, making the current constitutional amendment process a critical opportunity for reform.<\/div>\n<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on the_content --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on the_content --><!-- AddThis Related Posts generic via filter on the_content -->","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Tracy Moses The House of Representatives has urged the 36 State Houses of Assembly to support the passage of the Special Seats for Women Bill, as part of ongoing&hellip;<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on wp_trim_excerpt --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on wp_trim_excerpt --><!-- AddThis Related Posts generic via filter on wp_trim_excerpt --><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":118814,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-126724","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Reps Urge States to Back Women Seat\u00a0 Bill Amid Push for Inclusion - Pointblank News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/reps-urge-states-to-back-women-seat-bill-amid-push-for-inclusion\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta 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