The Chairperson of the House Committee on Women Affairs and Social Development, Kafilat Ogbara (APC, Lagos), has said that Nigeria cannot continue to ignore the systematic exclusion of women from governance.
She warned that true democratic development is impossible without adequate representation of women in decision-making structures.
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Mrs Ogbara said this while speaking at a media briefing on the Reserved Seats for Women Bill on Tuesday in Abuja.
The briefing, organised in collaboration with the committee and supported by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Bridge Her Gap Initiative, marked a fresh wave of advocacy for the constitutional amendment that seeks to allocate a fixed number of seats to women at both federal and state levels.
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“As we are all aware, women’s representation in governance and decision-making processes has been alarmingly low. Despite making up half of our population, women continue to be underrepresented in legislative bodies at both the national and state levels,” the lawmaker, who also chairs the newly inaugurated Reserved Seats Bill Committee, said.
According to her, the bill aims to address this imbalance by ensuring that a certain percentage of seats in the legislature are reserved specifically for women.
Currently, Nigeria has just 20 women in the National Assembly – four in the 109-member Senate and 16 in the 360-member House of Representative, representing a dismal 4.3 per cent of the entire federal legislature.
At the state level, only about 55 out of 990 elected lawmakers are women, further underscoring Nigeria’s global ranking of 178 out of 182 countries on the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU)’s index for women in national parliaments.
Mrs Ogbara praised the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Abbas Tajudeen, and Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu for backing the bill, describing them as gender-sensitive leaders. She also thanked the First Lady, Oluremi Tinubu, for her vocal support.
Mrs Ogbara also clarified that the bill is not just about numbers but about giving women a voice in the decision-making processes that affect their lives and communities.
“By increasing women’s representation, we can ensure that their perspectives, needs, and rights are adequately addressed in policy formulation and implementation,” she stressed.
Female representation in security agencies
Beyond the legislature, Mrs Ogbara disclosed that she has also sponsored a separate bill to mandate a minimum of 15 per cent female representation in Nigeria’s security forces, including the Police, Civil Defence Corps, Army, and Air Force, in recruitment and appointments.
She emphasised the wider developmental implications of including more women in governance.
She said, “Studies have shown that when women are part of decision-making, economic growth is accelerated. We cannot afford to keep half of our population out of the room where policies are made.”
The lawmaker called on civil society organisations, the media, traditional institutions, and ordinary Nigerians to rally behind the bill.
She ended with a rousing slogan that now defines the advocacy: “Let’s reserve the seats for women, for the table to be stronger.”
Bill’s importance
Lending her voice to the campaign, the Chairperson of the Senate Committee on Women Affairs, Ireti Kingibe (LP, FCT), underscored the national importance of the bill and urged Nigerians especially women to actively mobilise support for its passage.
She called on women across the country to engage with men, community leaders and political actors to rally backing for the proposed 34 reserved seats, emphasising that the initiative was not solely a women’s issue but a critical step toward Nigeria’s overall development.
According to her, global trends have shown a strong correlation between increased female political representation and economic progress, and Nigeria touted as the giant of Africa cannot afford to lag behind.
She said, “This isn’t just about women, it is about the whole country. It is shown everywhere that where there is more female representation, the countries are better developed economically and we know that as the giant of Africa, we need to get ahead of everybody.”
Mrs Kingibe also appealed to state governors to support the bill at the subnational level, noting that their cooperation would be vital to its success.
She warned that Nigeria’s delegations to international parliamentary fora often lack adequate gender representation, which undermines the country’s credibility and influence.
To achieve full and fair participation in governance at all levels, she stressed the need for structural inclusion of women in the political system.
Also lending her voice to the campaign, Elsie Attafuah, Resident Representative of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Nigeria, drew a powerful connection between the recent victory of the Super Falcons and the broader narrative of women’s leadership in the country
She said the triumph of the national women’s football team was not only a celebration of sporting excellence but a symbolic reminder of women’s capacity for leadership, resilience, and national impact, whether on the field, in the community, or in public office.
Ms Attafuah lamented the fact that women, who constitute nearly half of Nigeria’s population, hold fewer than five per cent of seats in the National Assembly.
She described this as not merely a statistical gap but a glaring signal that urgent action is needed to dismantle structural barriers and drive systemic change.
She noted that the bill represents a “transformative response” to this reality. According to her, the bill validates the principle that women deserve a place at the decision-making table not as tokens or exceptions, but as full participants and equals.
UNDP, she explained, is supporting this effort through its Parliamentary Development Programme, a four-year initiative aimed at strengthening the institutional capacity of the National Assembly, promoting democratic governance, and embedding gender equality as a core development priority.
Ms Attafuah stressed that global experience has shown the effectiveness of reserved seats in enhancing political inclusion. She cited countries such as Rwanda and Nepal, where the introduction of quotas has significantly accelerated women’s political participation and helped build more inclusive governance systems.
She pointed out that Nigerian women are already driving change at the grassroots, leading in education, healthcare, peacebuilding, and economic resilience and what they now need are deliberate, structural pathways into formal political leadership.
She called on Nigerians to seize the moment, describing this as an opportunity for the country to redefine what leadership looks like by unlocking the full potential of its women.
What the bill proposes
The Constitution Alteration Bill (HB 1349), which scaled second reading on 9 July, 2024 seeks to create one additional seat for women in each state and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in both the Senate and House of Representatives, amounting to 74 exclusive seats for women at the federal level.
In addition, it proposes three special seats for women in each of the 36 State Houses of Assembly, totalling 108 new state-level seats.
The bill includes four key pillars:
Reservation of Seats: To guarantee women’s participation and visibility in politics.
Inclusivity Measures: Aimed at involving young women, women with disabilities, and women from marginalised communities.
Implementation Framework: To be executed by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), with clear nomination and election guidelines.
Monitoring and Evaluation: The reserved seats will be subject to a review every four election cycles, with a termination clause after 16 years.
Not first attempt
This is not the first time a gender quota bill is surfacing in Nigeria’s federal legislature. A similar bill was introduced in the 9th Assembly by Nkeiruka Onyejeocha and 85 co-sponsors, including the then Speaker, Femi Gbajabiamila.
That version proposed 111 special seats for women in the federal legislature – three per state and one for the FCT in each chamber, but it failed during voting in March 2022, after falling short of the required two-thirds majority.
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The current version, HB 1349, reduces the number of reserved seats in response to concerns about an already bloated legislature.
Crucially, it also includes a sunset clause, providing for the termination of the arrangement after 16 years, subject to impact assessment and review.
To build broader support for the legislation, Mr Tajudeen, on 23 July, inaugurated a Joint Working and Strategy Advocacy Committee to liaise with governors, party leaders, religious figures and traditional rulers across Nigeria. The committee, made up of members from the House Committees on Women Affairs and Women in Parliament, will drive grassroots advocacy and stakeholder engagement.
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