Stakeholders Seek Speedy Passage Of Special Seat Bill

Political stakeholders and diplomats have urged the National Assembly to expedite action on the passage of the Special Seat Bill, which seeks to reserve political seats for women.

The bill is sponsored by the deputy speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Benjamin Kalu, who also sponsored the seat reservation bill.

Speaking at a high-level stakeholders’ engagement on ‘Special Seats Bill’ in Abuja yesterday, a board member, Stand to End Rape Initiative (STER), Dr Ibrahim Banaru Abubakar said: “Today we convene, not just to discuss policy, but to confront a persistent imbalance that undermines the very fabric of our representative democracy in Nigeria, this tight under-representation of women in Nigeria’s political landscape.

“In a country where more than half of the population, or nearly half of the population are women, they occupy only 3.6 per cent of the Senate seats, 4.7 per cent in the House of Representatives. And I can tell you in 15 Nigerian states, there’s no single woman in the state assembly. This is not acceptable.

“It is not only a gap, but a gaping wound in the heart of our democracy in Nigeria. And make no mistake, when women are absent from chambers of power, it is not only women who suffer. The nation suffers, policies also suffer, our families suffer, and then progress tells that if we stop women from getting to the chambers of power.”

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He further states that “the proposed special seats for women in the National State House of Assemblies bill, the HB 1349, seeks to address these imbalances by reserving additional seats for women in both national and state assemblies.

“The special seats for women bill is not about political favors. It is about political fairness. It proposes a constitutional amendment to temporarily create additional seats for women in our national and state assemblies, reviewable in 16 years.

“Some say it’s radical, but I can tell you it is necessary. I say it is necessary. Rwanda did it, Senegal did it.
Their democracies did not weaken, they’re rather different.

Their economies did not stall, they’re rather surged. Their children did not suffer, they’re rather soared.”

Also, while speaking at the event, the German Ambassador to Nigeria, Ambassador Annett Günther said: “We are all aware how low the number of women in the National Assembly is, it was mentioned before by Mr. Abubakar, and it is one of the lowest in Africa. This is not just a statistic, it represents millions of unheard voices, perspective missing in policymaking, in political discussions, and it’s a systematic barrier to the needs that need to be addressed with urgency and courage. In Germany’s recently new elected parliament, there are only 32 per cent women represented, and this is unfortunately even lower than in the previous parliament.

“So I must say, Germany is not exactly a shining example, even though the numbers are a bit higher. And therefore we are not in a position to be giving lectures here, but instead I think by supporting this kind of projects and events like this, we are working together with you because we confront the same challenges, maybe to a different level, but we have the same challenges in all societies, and I think through this exchange and through this support, we can both progress on our ways in our policies of supporting women in society. Temporary special measures, it was meant before, such as the Special Seats Bill, are internationally recognized tools to address longstanding gender imbalances.”

While lending his voice in support for the speedy passage of the bill, deputy chairman, House Committee on Public Account of the Federal House of Representatives, Jeremiah Umaru said, “gender inclusiveness is one of the key areas of this 10th assembly. And for the honorable members to be here, you should know that already we take it very, very seriously and we take it dear to our heart.

“We have engaged in different parliaments within Africa and across Africa and we discovered that women have special seats in the parliament. Looking at Uganda, the speaker of the parliament of Uganda is a woman, and they have special seats for women. Talking about Kenya and so on and so forth.

“Nigeria should also think and follow suit. So for us, we are here to let you know that we will support and we will continue to be part of this engagement to ensure that the women are adequately represented in the political space.”