Deputy Speaker Urges Aggressive Campaign to Pass Women Special Seat Bill

* EU, PLAC: Gender inclusivity good for development

Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja

As the campaign for more female inclusion in governance in Nigeria, Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon Benjamin Kalu, has asked various women groups in the country to rally support for the passage of the Bill on Special Seat reservation for women in the legislature.
He said the women must not allow the momentum of advocacy to slow down and should undertake an aggressive lobby of critical stakeholders, particularly members of National and state Houses of Assembly.
“This is an opportunity of a lifetime and you must not let it slip off. As women you possess what it takes to convince every man, you should form groups to reach out to the legislators both at the National Assembly and State Houses of Assembly to make the support the Bill,” he said.

Kalu who made the appeal at a sensitization campaign jointly organised by the House of Representatives Committee on the Review of the Constitution and the Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre (PLAC), and sponsored by the European Union at Hilton Hotel in Abuja said Nigerians should see the ongoing amendment as an opportunity to correct the long-standing imbalance in governance representation.
He explained that the objective of the Women Special Seat Bill is to address chronic underrepresentation by creating additional women only seats in the National and state assemblies.
He said that the Bill provides for one Senate and House of Representatives seat to be reserved for women in each state and the Federal Capital Territory FCT and another one House of Assembly seat in each of three senatorial districts across the country.

Speaking specifically to some women lawmakers attending the meeting from various state Houses of Assembly in the country, Kalu said: “Why I like that you are coming from the Assemblies is because you have a job to do in convincing the people in your Assemblies, because, by the nature of our Constitution, once the federal parliament is done, we move it to you, the state. If you say, no, it will not fly. So, you have greater job to do in making sure your governors”.

Head of the European Union (EU) delegation to Nigeria and the ECOWAS, Gautier Mignot said there are many examples of countries around the world where increased women participation in governance has led to great improvement.

“Look at Rwanda and Kenya, for instance, even in Muslim countries, Morocco, Egypt, even some Gulf countries. So it’s not a question of religion.

“These countries also have done a lot to increase women’s participation. So, the world has moved on, and the sad truth is that Nigeria has lagged behind.

“And Nigeria’s vocation is not to lag behind. Nigeria’s vocation is to lead, to show the model, to show the example. So, this is about putting Nigeria where it belongs in the leadership,” he said.

On his part, the Executive Director of PLAC, Clement Nwankwo bemoaned what he described as severe women under-representation, adding that Nigeria remained among the lowest globally for women’s representation in parliament.

“There are some states where the Committee on Women Affairs is chaired by a man, and I think it’s, I don’t want to mention the states, but I think it’s quite sad,” he said.

Nwankwo said the Committee on constitution review, both in the House and Senate, created technical experts to work on several issues that is of great concern to the citizens.

Minister of Women Affairs, represented by the Permanent Secretary said that the Special Seat Bill is not just another legislation but a significant milestone that will propel the country to greatness.