Constitution Amendment Bill Proposes 182 Additional Women Legislative Seats

Nigeria is approaching one of its most significant constitutional overhauls since returning to democracy, as the Reserved Seats for Women Bill advances through the National Assembly.

The proposal seeks to establish 182 additional legislative positions exclusively for women at both federal and state levels.

The bill originates from the House of Representatives and is sponsored by Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu alongside 12 others, including the late Oriyomi Onanuga, Jafaru Leko, Francis Waive, Blessing Onuh, Joshua Gana, Kama Nkemkanma, Chinwe Nnabuife, Amobi Godwin, Khadija Ibrahim, Jonathan Gbefwi, Tolani Shagaya, and Mohammed Hassan.

Officially titled, “A bill for an act to alter the provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, to provide for seat reservation for women in the National and State Houses of Assembly; and for related matters,” it forms part of more than 40 proposed constitutional amendments to be decided by lawmakers.

Advocates of the bill say it aims to correct Nigeria’s extremely low and structurally hindered participation of women in politics, noting that women currently hold fewer than five percent of elected political positions nationwide.

If enacted, the legislation would amend seven sections of the 1999 Constitution, expand the Senate, House of Representatives, and all 36 state Houses of Assembly, and require the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to create special constituencies for women-only elections for four electoral cycles, a 16-year period, before a mandatory review.

While the House supports adding 182 seats reserved for women, senators are pushing a counter-measure that would drastically reduce the number of women-only seats in the upper chamber from the proposed 37 to just six, one seat per geopolitical zone.

Details of the bill, seen by The Guardian on Saturday, show that the Senate would gain 37 new seats by replacing Section 48 of the Constitution, providing one extra female senator for each of the 36 states plus the FCT. This arrangement would be reassessed after 16 years.

The House of Representatives would mirror the expansion with 37 female-only seats, through a revised Section 49 that increases the chamber from 360 to 397 members, adding one special seat for women in every state and the FCT.

Under a new Section 71(2), INEC would be obligated to create dedicated senatorial districts for the women-only seats and designate each state as a federal constituency for the reserved House seats.

At the state level, Section 91 would be substituted to compel each House of Assembly to include three additional women-only seats. One for every senatorial district, amounting to 108 new positions nationwide and bringing the total number of reserved seats to 182.

Additional provisions in Sections 77 and 117 would define “special constituency” as districts exclusively for female representation. However, the Senate remains reluctant to support such a large expansion.

During a capacity-building workshop for the House of Representatives Press Corps in Abuja, Dr. Chidozie Ajah, Special Adviser (Legislative) to the Deputy Speaker, disclosed that senators are pushing an alternative proposal.

He explained that the Senate wants only six women-only seats, one per geopolitical zone, as an initial measure, instead of the 37 recommended by the bill.

Ajah noted that negotiations are still in progress and positions could change as lawmakers seek a middle ground.

He reiterated that the reserved seats initiative is not based on any assumption that women lack competitiveness but is meant to correct longstanding barriers that have systematically limited female political participation.

Ajah insisted the bill is not an act of benevolence or a way of shielding women from political contest.

According to him, the goal is to dismantle the “mountain of structural, cultural, and systemic barriers” that have sidelined women in leadership for generations.

He further revealed that lawmakers are considering a modification to Section 42: Nigeria’s anti-discrimination provision, to explicitly permit affirmative action, thereby preventing legal disputes.

Nigeria currently has one of the lowest rates of female political representation globally. Only three women serve in the 109-member Senate, and 17 women occupy seats in the 360-member House, placing national female representation at 4.7 percent and ranking Nigeria 184th in the world.

Ajah contended that even with 74 women added to the Senate and House, the country would achieve just 13.6 percent representation, still well below the African continental average.

The bill draws inspiration from other African nations that have successfully implemented gender quotas.

Speaking at the same event, Executive Director of the Gender Strategy Advancement International (GSAI), Adaora Sydney-Jack, highlighted the role of the media in the problem.

She criticized editorial practices, saying: “Women hardly make headline stories, not because their issues lack importance, but because editorial decisions push them aside.”

Sydney-Jack encouraged journalists to rethink how they cover policies affecting women.

For the Reserved Seats Bill to become law, it must pass the rigorous constitutional amendment process: approval by two-thirds of the Senate, two-thirds of the House of Representatives, and endorsement from at least 24 of the 36 state Houses of Assembly, before finally being transmitted to the President for assent.