Soibi Max-Alalibo
The Rivers State House of Assembly (RSHA) says it is in support of the bill proposing more seats for women at the National Assembly and all the 36 States Houses of Assembly in Nigeria, and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
Speaker of the House Rt. Hon. Martin Amaewhule, gave the assurance recently when the “Women Educators Association of Nigeria (WEAN)”, the coordinating organization for 100 women Lobby Group for the bill, paid him an advocacy visit in his office.
While responding to the request by the group for the State Assembly to support the bill, the Speaker stated that the support of the House is only natural, saying that the RSHA has already started it since the tenure of the immediate past Governor of the State, Nyesom Wike, who is currently the Minister of the FCT.
The Speaker said, “Equitable representation of women in the political architecture stands without reasoning. It is inherent in Rivers State. Lobbying is not needed for us to support the bill because it’s something Rivers State has been doing.
“We started it under the tenure of Nyesom Wike as Governor, and it was extended to the Local Government Areas too.”
He continued that “Rivers State will urge other politically gender-biased states to support the bill.”
Earlier, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the group, Sylvia Briggs, intimated the Speaker on the bill for Reserved Seats for Women.
She said: “The Reserved Seats For Women initiative is not designed to take away anything from men, or reduce existing constituencies, it is an additional seats to be contested for by women.
“The proposed constitutional amendment seeking to create special legislative seats exclusively for women is aimed at expanding political inclusion rather than displacing existing representation.”
Briggs explained that the Reserved Seats For Women simply means “additional seats, not redistribution of existing ones.
“This means the current 109 seats in the Senate will remain intact. What the bill proposes is the creation of 37 extra seats exclusively for women – 36 for the states and one for the Federal Capital Territory.”
This amendment is for Section 48:37 of Nigeria’s Constitution.
In the same vein, the House of Representatives will have additional 74 seats for women, comprising two seats in each of the 36 States and the FCT, as amendment to Section 49:74 of the Constitution.
At the State level, three seats would be reserved for women in each State House of Assembly – one person each per Senatorial District – amounting to 108 seats nationwide, also as amendment to Section 91:108 of the Constitution.
In 2022 the Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre (PLAC), while reviewing relevant information on Nigeria’s democracy, explained the crux of the bill in its “Fact-sheet”.
It stated that, “This is a Constitution Alteration Bill that seeks to remedy the low representation of women in Legislative Houses by providing for the creation of an additional number of legislative seats to be contested and filled only by women in the National Assembly and State Houses of Assembly as a temporary measure to boost the numbers of women in decision making.
“The Bill does not reserve any of the existing seats or constituencies for women. The current seats of 109 Senators and 360 Representatives remain and can be contested by men or women. Bill creates as a temporary measure, women constituencies to add to existing seats and to be contested by women only. It has a sunset clause which means that it will be abolished after a period of 16 years or 4 election cycles.”
Rivers Assembly Backs Reserved Seats For Women Bill
