Godsent Ogbebor
Over One Million Women Petition National Assembly for Reserved Seats
More than one million Nigerian women have formally petitioned the National Assembly in support of a bill that seeks to reserve parliamentary seats for women across the country.
The petitions, gathered by civil society groups and women’s organisations, were presented at a public hearing on the constitutional amendment in Abuja, drawing wide attention to Nigeria’s long-standing gender imbalance in governance.
At present, only four women occupy seats in the Senate and 15 in the House of Representatives.
Leader of the League of Women Voters of Nigeria, Irene Awunah-Ikyegh, said the signatures demonstrate a nationwide demand for change.
She explained that the bill, if passed, would guarantee one woman senator per state, one female representative per state, and additional slots in state assemblies. “We have waited too long. This reform will change the story of women’s exclusion forever,” she said.
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The women’s campaign received high-level backing at the hearing. President Bola Tinubu, represented by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, said the amendment was necessary to strengthen fairness and equity.
Senate President Godswill Akpabio and House Speaker Tajudeen Abbas also expressed support, calling the proposal a matter of justice.
Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu, who chairs the Constitution Review Committee, described the measure as historic and assured that the committee would give it serious consideration.
Diplomatic envoys from Britain, the European Union and the United Nations also lent their voices in support of the women’s demand, while hundreds of demonstrators staged a peaceful march in Abuja, urging lawmakers to act.
Advocates say the success of the bill would mark a turning point in Nigeria’s democratic development, placing women at the centre of decision-making and addressing a gap that has endured since the return of civilian rule in 1999.
