- She said the delay risked becoming a deliberate strategy to stall the process
- the bill is not about tokenism or appointments but about creating a fair political space
- She argued that Nigeria cannot effectively legislate on issues such as maternal health, child welfare
A coalition of civil society groups, under the Reserved Seats for Women Bill Campaign Coalition, has urged the National Assembly to pass the Reserved Seats for Women Bill before the end of February, warning that any delay could jeopardize its implementation ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Eko Hot Blog gathered that the call was made on Wednesday in Abuja by the coalition’s National Convener, Chief Osasu Igbinedion-Ogwuche, during a roundtable meeting with media executives.
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The bill, sponsored by the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rep. Benjamin Kalu, proposes the creation of 74 additional seats for women in the National Assembly and 108 seats in the 36 State Houses of Assembly, aimed at improving women’s political representation across the country.
Igbinedion-Ogwuche warned that failure to pass the bill by February would make it impossible to implement in 2027, effectively postponing meaningful female representation until 2031.
She said the delay risked becoming a deliberate strategy to stall the process, stressing that time was now a critical factor.
According to her, the bill is not about tokenism or appointments but about creating a fair political space where women with capacity and ambition can compete through elections.
“This is not charity. It is not handouts. It is not an appointment. These are elective positions. Women will contest, compete and win,” she said, adding that violence, tradition, and religious barriers have continued to shut out capable women from the political process.
She noted that the reserved seats would not belong to any political party, explaining that all registered parties would sponsor candidates, making the process fully competitive.
Igbinedion-Ogwuche described Nigeria’s record on women’s political participation as deeply alarming, pointing out that women make up about 50 per cent of the population but occupy less than 5 per cent of parliamentary seats.
She said only 16 women sit in the 360-member House of Representatives, four in the 109-member Senate, and 51 women out of 993 lawmakers across the 36 State Assemblies, with several assemblies having no female representation at all.
She argued that Nigeria cannot effectively legislate on issues such as maternal health, child welfare, nutrition, and women’s empowerment without women being actively involved in decision-making.
On political support, she disclosed that the coalition has secured public backing from President Bola Tinubu, First Lady Oluremi Tinubu, Senate President Godswill Akpabio, and Speaker of the House Abbas Tajudeen, as well as engagement with the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, the Governors’ Spouses’ Forum, and APC governors.
She also revealed that traditional and religious resistance was being addressed through strategic engagements, including support from the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar, who publicly endorsed the bill and rejected the use of religion to suppress women’s participation in politics.
Highlighting the economic impact of gender inclusion, she cited global research indicating that increased female participation in governance could add over $200 billion to Nigeria’s GDP in the next decade.
The coalition called on the media to sustain pressure through consistent reporting, investigative stories, and public engagement within the next 30 days to ensure the bill’s passage.
Also speaking, Kingsley Sintim, Managing Director of TOS Group, described the media as a strategic partner in driving public understanding of the reform, urging coordinated messaging, human-centred storytelling, and wide civic education across cultural and regional lines.
He stressed the importance of digital platforms, public awareness tool,s and data resources such as constituency-level trackers to monitor lawmakers’ positions and strengthen citizen engagement on the bill.
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