CSOs, experts renew push for passage of special seats bill

Civil society groups and international experts have renewed calls for the passage of the Special Seats Bill, describing it as a crucial democratic reform to improve women’s representation in Nigeria’s legislature.

The appeal was made during a webinar convened by the Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre (PLAC) with support from the European Union (EU) and the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU).

The bill seeks to create temporary additional seats for women in the National and State Assemblies to address the country’s persistent gender imbalance in politics.

Clement Nwankwo, executive director of PLAC, said growing engagement with lawmakers was yielding positive results.

“By the time we finished speaking, his question was, ‘in principle, this is not a bill anybody should object to… what would be the modalities?’” he recalled of a conversation with a senator who had initially opposed the bill.

Nwankwo noted that advocacy efforts were gaining ground, supported by the EU, IPU, UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), UN Women, and the UNDP.

Joy Ezeilo (SAN), consultant to the National Assembly on constitutional review, warned that Nigeria continues to lag behind other African nations.

“It’s been a Herculean task trying to achieve inclusion in the Constitution that aligns with Nigeria’s international obligations,” she said.

Citing global trends, Drude Dahlerup, IPU expert and professor emerita at Stockholm University, noted that women currently hold only 3 percent of Senate and 3.9 percent of House seats in Nigeria.

“Over half of all countries now use some form of gender quota,” she said, adding that reserved seats remain the most effective in patriarchal societies.

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From the United Arab Emirates, Ali Al-Nuaimi, a member of the Federal National Council, shared how his country achieved 50 percent female representation in parliament through strong leadership and engagement with cultural and religious leaders.

Advocates acknowledged that the bill requires a two-thirds majority in both chambers and approval by 24 State Assemblies but insisted that democratic progress must not be delayed.

“This bill is not a loss for men but a victory for democracy and inclusion,” Nwankwo said.