Connect with us

News

Reps Mull Reserved Seats for Women, Persons with Disabilities in Constitution Review

Published

11 months ago

on

ADVERTISEMENT
Zoom Ad
ADVERTISEMENT
Zoom Ad

…as House record surge in legislative activity, over 2,200 bills introduced

By Gloria Ikibah

In a significant move under the ongoing constitution amendment process, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rep. Tajudeen Abbas, has revealed that the 10th House is actively considering allocating 10% of elective seats to women and 5% to persons with disabilities in the National Assembly.

Speaking during the second Legislative Open Week, Abbas explained that this initiative, once enacted into law, would result in an additional 82 lawmakers—comprising 55 in the House of Representatives and 28 in the Senate.

Advertisement

He emphasised that those occupying the reserved seats would have full legislative rights, including equal access to privileges and committee assignments, ensuring their seamless integration into the nation’s legislative framework.

He said: “We are considering 109 amendment bills across various sectors, including electoral, judicial, legislative, and inclusive governance. Twelve electoral reform bills address the scheduling of all general elections on a single day, establish independent candidacy, and create a dedicated commission for local government elections. Judicial reforms encompass 21 bills designed to streamline appellate processes and strengthen judicial independence”.
Speaker Abbas  said further that a central feature of the House’ inclusive governance proposals is the introduction of constitutionally guaranteed reserved seats for women and persons with disabilities.
He added: “Under the draft amendment, ten per cent (10%) of seats in both the Senate and the House of Representatives would be set aside for women, apportioned by state to ensure regional balance.
“These seats would be filled through direct elections on separate ballots, with staggered terms to promote continuity and mentorship. Five per cent (5%) of seats would be reserved for persons with disabilities, with candidates nominated by accredited disability advocacy organisations.
“Historical data underscores the urgency of this reform. At independence in 1960, women occupied less than one per cent of seats in the National Assembly. By 1990, their share rose only to two per cent. With the restoration of democracy in 1999, women held 3.9 per cent of House seats and four per cent of Senate seats. Today, despite constituting half the population, women’s representation has barely moved beyond these levels.
“International experience shows the impact quotas can have. Rwanda and Senegal utilised constitutional provisions to increase female representation from under 5% to over 30% in a single cycle. South Africa’s voluntary party quota has delivered steady gains, though its success depends on enforcement. By embedding reserved seats into our Constitution, we will break the cycle of stagnation.
“This mechanism will accelerate progress towards gender parity, enrich our legislative debates with diverse perspectives, and ensure that the National Assembly truly reflects the people it serves. The 10th House will pursue vigorous collaboration with the State Houses of Assembly and all stakeholders to ensure that the Bill on the reserved seat is passed and becomes part of our constitution”.

The Speaker disclosed that within its first two sessions, the 10th House introduced a total of 2,263 bills—demonstrating a marked rise in legislative engagement. Of these, 1,478 have progressed to second reading, 135 await further House action, 339 are under review by Standing Committees, while five have been rejected during debates.

He noted that the overwhelming majority—2,204—were sponsored by individual members, alongside 26 Executive bills and 33 from the Senate seeking concurrence. According to him, these figures underscore a consistent growth in the National Assembly’s legislative capacity since 1999.

As of June 30, 2025, 237 bills had been passed and forwarded for presidential assent, with 55 already signed into law. Among the key legislative achievements are the recently enacted Tax Reform Laws—including the Nigeria Tax Act, Nigeria Tax Administration Act, Nigeria Revenue Service Act, and the Joint Revenue Board Act—which aim to streamline tax processes and unify revenue collection at all government levels.

Advertisement
“The Electricity Act (Amendment) 2023 transfers electricity to the Concurrent Legislative List, empowering both federal and state governments to legislate on power generation, transmission, and distribution. The Student Loans (Access to Higher Education) Act 2024 establishes the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFund) as an independent body to expand access to tertiary education among others.
The Speaker said the House has received 621 petitions from citizens on wrongful terminations, rights violations and other grievances, adding that 24 of the petitions have been fully treated, with reports ready, 30 dismissed for lack of merit while the remaining 567 are at various stages of the hearing and investigation process.
Speaker Abbas said the House will continue to advance security reform with bills for state policing and the devolution of powers over natural resources and infrastructure, adding that the House is considering 14 bills aim to strengthen institutions, enforce fiscal accountability, and improve governance frameworks. Citizens’ rights feature in four human rights bills that align domestic law with international standards.
Speaking on ​Executive–legislative cooperation which he said remains essential, the Speaker thanked the President for always consulting the National Assembly on key policy matters, and for respecting the input throughout the legislative process.
According to Abbas, the 10th House recognise the challenges before Nigerians such as economic constraints, high turnover rate, and public expectations for immediate improvements which require resilience.
He added that, “his willingness to engage with our debates and incorporate our recommendations has strengthened governance and reinforced the balance of powers that underpins our democracy.
“We will continue to balance fiscal realities in our budget appropriations, prioritise critical sectors, and ensure that we deliver fully on our legislative agenda. Similarly, we will continue to invest in research support, modern library facilities, and peer-learning initiatives to strengthen the institution”.
The President of the Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio commended the House for the achievement in the past two years and for opening their House for the Nigerians people, assuring that the Senate will follow the footstep of the House, while plans are on to organize a joint open week with the Green chambers.
Akpabio said the event was necessary to educate the Nigerian people on the functions of the lawmakers as a way of reducing the large turnover rate in the parliament, adding that in the Senate, about 80 percent of Senators ad new to the parliament.
He said this huge turnover rate of lawmakers affects institutional memories in the legislature and even the effective performance of their functions.
According to hm, many Nigerians are unaware of the actual function of the legislator and has often piled pressure on them to build roads, provide employment and other activities meant for the executive, adding that when the lawmaker fail to deliver on these areas, they are regarded by their constituents as failures, thereby affecting their efforts at returning to the National Assembly.
Akpabio said further that because the current is not at loggerhead with the Executive, but choose to engage in dialogue in arriving at definite positions does not mean that the Assembly is a rubber stamp Assembly, adding that together with the Executive, they have always put the interest of the Nigerian people first.
Former Speaker, Rt. Hon. Yakubu Dogara Charged the lawmakers to continue to promote the spirit of transparency and accountability, saying it is only when you are accountable that you can hold others accountable.
Another former Speaker, Rt. Hon. Patricia Ette reminded the lawmakers of the need to constantly return to their constituencies to engage with the people, adding that there was the need to take a cue from the open week because their main office is not in Abuja, but in their constituencies.
Related Topics:
Continue Reading
Advertisement
Click to comment

Warning: Undefined variable $user_ID in /home/naijuinz/public_html/wp-content/themes/zox-news/comments.php on line 49

You must be logged in to post a comment Login

Leave a Reply

News

Tinubu clears APC primary elections with 10.9m votes, secures 2027 ticket(See results)

Published

3 hours ago

on

May 24, 2026

By

ADVERTISEMENT
Zoom Ad
ADVERTISEMENT
Zoom Ad

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has clinched the APC presidential ticket for 2027 after a landslide win in the party’s primaries held Saturday across 36 states and the FCT.

The results were declared Sunday at the Bola Ahmed Tinubu International Conference Centre in Abuja. Tinubu polled 10,999,967 votes, defeating sole challenger Stanley Osifo who got 16,504 votes.

Osifo failed to register a single vote in 21 states and the FCT. His only recorded vote came in Edo State.

His best showings were in Niger with 5,248 votes, Kano with 2,675, Bauchi with 2,650, and Abia with 1,007.

Advertisement

Tinubu swept every state, with his highest tallies in Lagos at 814,988, Adamawa at 644,149, Kaduna at 618,914, and Imo at 582,960. Kano delivered 500,852 votes, Katsina 467,003, and Gombe 450,517.

Other notable results:
– Bayelsa: 227,192
– Delta: 407,646
– Borno: 414,988
– Enugu: 383,382
– Akwa Ibom: 389,197
– Benue: 374,787
– Ogun: 322,485
– Kwara: 310,990
– Sokoto: 301,000

The party said the primaries covered all 484 wards in Kano, where Tinubu also swept every ward.

With the outcome, Tinubu is now the official APC candidate heading into the 2027 general election.

Advertisement
Continue Reading

News

AEDC finally announces electricity restoration in Abuja after blackout

Published

9 hours ago

on

May 24, 2026

By

ADVERTISEMENT
Zoom Ad
ADVERTISEMENT
Zoom Ad

Abuja Electricity Distribution Company has finally announced that it has restored electricity supply to State House, Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Lugbe, Garki, and other areas in the nation’s capital after an outage.

AEDC disclosed this in a notice on Saturday night.

Recall that major parts of Abuja were thrown into darkness due to the Transmission Company of Nigeria’s Apo substation fault.

TCN had on Saturday issued an update noting that its engineers were working to fix the fault.

Advertisement

In a notice later on Saturday night, AEDC announced electricity supply has been restored to affected areas.

“Abuja Electricity Distribution Plc (AEDC) is pleased to inform our esteemed customers that power supply has now been restored to affected feeders following the successful restoration of the 100MVA Transformer (TR3) at the Apo Transmission Substation by the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN),” AEDC stated.

Continue Reading

News

Our law firm ‘ll ensure resolution of commercial disputes – Adeji opens office in Lagos

Published

9 hours ago

on

May 24, 2026

By

ADVERTISEMENT
Zoom Ad
ADVERTISEMENT
Zoom Ad

By Kayode Sanni-Arewa

Joshua Adeji & Co, a Lagos-based law firm established in 2016 by Joshua Osemudiamen Adeji has opened its new office and mediation center in Lagos.

The office is situated at 16, Adeniran Ogunsanya, Surulere, in Lagos.

Speaking at an event that brought together clients, business leaders, and key figures in Nigeria’s legal community to celebrate the firm’s continued growth and commitment to excellence, the Principal partner, Joshua Adeji reiterated the firm’s steadfastness to offer top-tier legal services to clients across multiple sectors of Nigeria’s and Africa as a whole.

Advertisement

He further stated that the newly established law firm and its Mediation Centre would serve as a hub for fast, amicable and efficient resolution of commercial disputes.

The Firm, he stated, would assist clients to amicably resolve their disputes to align with their commercial goals and help clients navigate complex laws, protect their rights, and resolve disputes.

Continue Reading

Trending

Copyright © 2024 Naija Blitz News