A proposed constitutional amendment is seeking to significantly increase women’s representation in Nigeria’s legislative institutions by creating additional seats for women in the National Assembly and State Houses of Assembly.
The bill proposes the creation of 12 additional seats in the Senate, 37 new seats in the House of Representatives, and three special seats for women in each of the 36 State Houses of Assembly.
Under the proposed amendment to Section 48 of the Constitution, the Senate would retain its existing structure of three senators per state and one for the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). However, two additional senatorial seats would be created for each of the country’s six geo-political zones.
These seats would be reserved exclusively for women and filled through an Electoral College system.
The amendment also seeks to alter Section 49 of the Constitution by retaining the current 360 constituency-based seats in the House of Representatives while creating one additional seat for a woman in each state and the FCT.
This would add 37 women to the lower chamber.
At the state level, amendments to Section 91 would introduce three additional seats in every State House of Assembly, with one woman representing each senatorial district in the state.
According to the proposal, all the additional seats would be filled through indirect elections conducted by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) using Electoral Colleges rather than direct voting by the general electorate.
The Electoral College for National Assembly seats would comprise elected local government chairpersons, vice-chairpersons, councillors, members of State Houses of Assembly, members of the House of Representatives, and senators from the respective states. Similar arrangements would apply to the election of women members into State Houses of Assembly.
Candidates for the special seats must be women sponsored by registered political parties and must satisfy all constitutional requirements applicable to the offices they seek.
The bill further provides that lawmakers elected through the special seats will enjoy the same rights, privileges, immunities, responsibilities, and tenure as members elected through regular constituencies.
To prevent the measure from becoming permanent without review, the proposal stipulates that the additional seats will take effect from the first general election following the amendment’s commencement and will be reviewed after 16 years.
The bill also introduces special recall procedures for holders of the seats and empowers the National Assembly to enact detailed regulations governing nominations, elections, vacancies, petitions, campaign finance, and the rotation of senatorial seats among states within each geo-political zone.
According to the explanatory memorandum accompanying the bill, the proposed amendment is intended as a temporary special measure to improve women’s participation in legislative governance and promote greater inclusiveness in Nigeria’s democratic institutions.
