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(INVESTIGATION) Who is to be held accountable for shrinking number of women in governance?
…Five Gender Bills and lack of political will by Executive/Legislature
By Gloria Ikibah
Low representation of women in politics and the numerous factors militating against their involvement have always generated concern for many experts in Nigeria. This low turn out of women is experienced at the local government, state and national level.
Naijablitznews.com reports that since the return to democracy in 1999, the political space has seen the number of women in politics, elective and appointive positions drastically drop by the day, and not quite encouraging.
The National Assembly has been dominated by males, in 1999, there were only 3 women out of the 109 members representing 2.8 per cent of the members of the Senate.
In 2007, the number increased to 8 (7.3 per cent). But in 2011, there was a decrease to 7 in 2011, which is 6.4 per cent and in 2015, 8 (7.3 per cent).
While the number of women in the House of representative was 12 out of 360 members in 1999, which was about 3.3 per cent.
In 2003 the number increased to 21 (5.8 per cent). We had 26 (7.2 per cent) in 2011, and in 2015, there was a decline to 19 (5.3 percent).
While, between 1999 and 2003, out of 130 federal boards of public corporations, only 7 (5.6 per cent) were women.
During the period, out of 47 cabinet ministers appointed, only 7 were women which represent 14.89 per cent. In 2011, more women were given political appointment, 12 women were appointed as Ministers out of 42, which represent 30 per cent and 4 women out of 20 as Special Advisers.
In this present administration, only 6 women were appointed as Ministers out of 30 ministerial appointees.
Meanwhile, in 2023, statistics revealed that the number of women elected to the National Assembly is the lowest since 2003, when 24 women were elected.
In the 2023 National Assembly, elections held on 25 February, 11 women ran for Senate seats, while 35 ran for seats in the House of Representatives.
At the end of the polls, the 10th National Assembly recorded 14 female members in the lower chamber and 3 in the upper chamber.
The circumstances resulted in the emergence of five bills in the 9th Assembly to press home the demands of the female gender, and make them have relevance in the political space.
But the five gender bills were not passed by the 9th Assembly, despite the promise by the leadership, as they never saw the light of the day, as the 9th Assembly did not do justice for their passage, and no assent given by the president.
The bills are: “Bill to provide special seats for women at national assembly”, “Affirmative action for women in political party administration”; another bill sought to ‘grant citizenship to foreign-born husbands of a Nigerian woman”. Already, a Nigerian man’s foreign-born wife is automatically a Nigerian citizen and a bill that seeks to “allocate 35 per cent of political positions based on appointment to women and creation of additional 111 seats in National Assembly as well as at the state constituent assemblies”.
Lastly, “Inclusion of at least ten percent affirmative action in favour of women in Ministerial appointments”.
While speaking with Ene Edeh, the Founder of Policy Advocacy and publisher of The Woman Today, she said the five gender bills still remain the same, and nothing really has changed, but it is going to be represented.
According to her, the executive, legislature, political gladiators, political stakeholders, and particularly the political parties are responsible for the non passage of the five gender bills.
She stated: “The major reason responsible is fear, and anxiety about the space been populated by marginalised groups and particularly women. They feel that it will shrink their relevance, it will diminish their value, and it will make them less of men. “You know what men do. They have access to plenty of money, they have power, they have access to state resources, and they have unlimited opportunities, that they use as a bait for us.
“So, the oppressing tendency that governance in Nigeria gives to politicians is unlike other countries that the opportunities are used for service. So these structures and opportunities are usually used for oppression and self aggradisement.
“Another reason, Nobody is really holding anybody strictly and strongly accountable in a consistent manner. So it is a major problem for us. They have their way always, and that is why people get up to say things in the Assembly, and they go free. In other countries, they hold them to account, and the system is self accounting.
“There’s seeming a lack of cooperation among women, we believe that there is competition”.
The Executive Director of Inemo Foundation, Dr. Opeyemi Adeosun, blamed the diminishing representation of women in leadership positions, on the political class and women.
According to Adeosun, if women represent about 50 per cent of Nigeria’s population, “why can’t they mobilise themselves? But naturally, the majority of them are under men. If you are a daughter, a wife, or a sister, you are still under a man.
“So, we blame the political class for it, if you know the power of women, if you know the strength that women hold, a lot of them have made us proud”, he noted.
Adeosun said, women must be factual in their dealings when it comes to the passage of these bills.
“They must come with evidence based data, by carrying out research on other countries, advocates should push and lobby for the passage of this bill , and need to be strategic about the engagement.
“People need to be aware because a lot of people are not aware of this bill. A lot of people are not even aware that women are fighting for women. Women are too busy with other things. Leadership actually means responsibility and accountability, so women should sensentize women and they should engage more men in the community, CSOs and prominent people; including the lawmakers themselves, just like it has started to garner support.
He further added that there should be a sustainability plan to empower women.
“We do not see any strategy to keep issues of women at the front burner. We just do and go, we retreat and come again. The energy is not there to deliver on the misbehaviour we are seeing, the political rascality is too much and is not checked.
“We also have the problem of not been able to empower women sufficiently to fight, we should raise strategic fighters. We have never had it so bad, for me we can still get it right even before 2027 with different elections happening”, Adeosun asserted.
“The Late Dora Akunyili, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Madam Servicom and a number of them. Women have good hearts, but men believe that they can be emotionally imbalanced sometimes, but in leadership, they also seek the guidance of men, and once you give them authority, they can use it positively. We have also seen a number of them use it negatively like men in political leadership positions.
“The political class must pay attention to this, and say, let us test the power of women. What is the extent of progress made over the years? Can we try women? Can we try more youths? Can we try people who have not been given the opportunities?”
An investigation by Naijablitznews.com into women’s representation in political and appointive positions in the federal capital territory Abuja, revealed that the number of women in council in the six area councils have diminished drastically, and even no representation in the last council election.
In the federal capital territory Abuja, there are six area councils and there is no female representative as councilor or chairman of an area council. A total of 55 candidates contested to be the chairpersons of the six area councils. Only three of the candidates (9 per cent) are women.
Also, all the 55 candidates, by law, had to have running mates, who if elected would be the vice-chairpersons of the area councils. Of the 55 running mates, only eight (15 per cent) are women.
The Chairman of the Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC), Hon. Matthew Yare, disclosed that there is no female councillor in the whole of the Federal CapitalTerritoryAbuja.
He decried: “Even at the national level, you see the numbers shrinking. The issue is that we keep pushing them, we keep fighting them, and we keep giving them a fight that they can not bear. Now you should know that the female is somebody’s wife, she is some one’s mother.
“The children would tell her to stay back because they need her more than the political fight, and the husband tells her same, because we have made it look like it is a fight for the survival.
“I must be very frank with you that it was disappointing, in FCT we have 62 councillors in two major parties, not just that we do not have female representatives but that even in the general election a female did not emerge in the Primaries, they were denied tickets at the primary level.
“So when they are denied ticket at the primary level, you know that for sure at the main election they can not just come up in the major political parties that we have. It is disappointing, it is not good.
“In the council, before this current one, there was no female. It’s been quite a long time since we had a female representative in our political positions in FCT. And it is not a good practice. Like I said, we must have laws that prescribe for female representation, and that is the only way we can get all of it.
“There is no female councillor in the whole of FCT. In the last council of the 62, we had only one female from Ushafa ward in the Bwari Area Council”.
Hon. Yare believes that only if deliberate laws are put in place, and the 1999 constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria amended to accommodate women in such positions, only then can we see gender representation and balance.
“Now, for us to get it right as a nation and as a people, there need to be laws that prescribe specifically. For instance, in the senatorial seat, that for every state there must be one female Senator, now it becomes a law.
Or you say where two senators come, the next one should be a female. There must be those deliberate laws. When they are prescribed in our constitution and laws, it gives room for gender representation, and it gives a balance.
“Where it is open, I tell you that the challenge for the female gender is political participation, Nigeria is tough and tight, it is not easy and it is because of our loose laws where there are political thugs and so on. How many women can pay for political thugs to be able to win an election?
“There is a lack of political will, and we can not say that females are not supporting the female this time around. No, that era is gone. We see the females getting their governorship candidate to be kept in Adamawa state, but winning the election at the end of the day is a problem”, he asserted.
The AMAC Speaker further noted that the electoral law, national code of conduct for elections, and the rest of it must be deliberate.
“We must have deliberate laws that give women representations the opportunity. What then can women do to ensure that the five gender bills is given accelerated hearing before the 10th National Assembly and also presidential assent?
Comrade Edeh, said a new approach must be adopted to see passage of the five gender bills and ensure it is signed into law.
“Our overall strategy for delivery on these 5 development bills (gender bills) is largely obsolete, ineffective and bad behaviour eggo massaging.
“Women closing internal, women for women gaps, building water -tight trust, finding creative, innovative ways of funding their convictions, empower themselves and other women and girls
‘ We need to get trusted male allies , expand and improve the strategy. Women from armed forces who have retired, security agencies, civil servants, former office holders, ordinary women, and all sectors need to collaborate extensively”, she said.
Experts have recommended holistic amendment of our laws from top to down, so as to give the female gender their representation that positions specified in the laws.
The school curriculum should capture gender development.
Women need to support each other during elections ,not minding their husband political affiliations.
This investigation is for the GENDER ACCOUNTABILITY AND INCLUSIVITY IN NIGERIA project for Gender Strategy Advancement International (GSAI) supported by the OPEN SOCIETY INITIATIVE FOR WEST AFRICA.
FIRST PUBLISHED ON DECEMBER 4, 2023.
By Francesca Hangeior
The move to transform YabaTech in Lagos State to a University of Technology and Vocational Studies has got a boost as a Bill to this effect has scaled second reading in the Senate.
After being read the second time yesterday, the Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Barau Jibrin, APC, Kano North, who presided at Tuesday’s plenary session, thereafter referred it to the Committee on Tertiary Education and TETFUND for further legislative action and report back in four weeks.
It is titled, a Bill for an Act to provide for the Establishment of the Yaba Federal University of Technology and Vocational Studies Yaba, Lagos State and to make comprehensive provisions for its due management and administration and for other related matters, 2025 (SB. 738).
In his lead debate on the general principles of the bill, the Senate leader, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, APC, Ekiti Centra,l said that the Bill essentially seeks to transform and upgrade the YabaTech to Yaba Federal University of Technology and Vocational Studies, Yaba, Lagos State, which has already been done via a presidential fiat.
Bamidele said, “This Bill seeks to establish Yaba Federal University of Technology and Vocational Studies Yaba, Lagos State. The Bill was read the first time in this Hallowed Chamber on Tuesday, 11th March, 2025.
“The Bill essentially seeks to transform and upgrade the YabaTech to Yaba Federal University of Technology and Vocational Studies, Yaba, Lagos State, which has already been done via a presidential fiat.
“Nigeria’s steady march towards education for all in the shortest possible time has taken a giant leap with the introduction of this Bill for an Act to provide for the establishment of this University.
“I am personally excited by the prospect of transforming this Polytechnic to a University of Technology and Vocational Studies as it will motivate both students and academic staff, just as it will upgrade its facilities and enhance its capability to achieve its objectives.
Similarly, The New University will encourage the advancement of learning and hold out to all persons without distinction of race, creed, sex or political conviction the opportunity of acquiring a higher and liberal education. It will also do the following: Provide courses of instruction and other facilities for the pursuit of learning in all its branches, and to make those facilities available on proper terms to such persons as are equipped to benefit from them; Encourage and promote scholarship and conduct research in all fields of learning with emphasis on technical education”
According to the Senate leader, the new school will m”Relate its activities to the social, cultural and economic needs of the people of Nigeria; and Undertake any other activities appropriate for a university of the highest standards.
“If Nigeria, as planned, should aim to become one of the world’s twenty leading economies of the world in this 215t century, we must be ready to adjust and position our educational institutions so that its products are geared towards technological challenges inherent in such projections. Our educational authorities are moving to revamp our institutions for these objectives.
Yaba Federal University of Technology and Vocational Studies, when enacted by the National Assembly will have power to establish such campuses, colleges, faculties, institutes, schools, extra-mural departments and other teaching and research units within the University as may from time to time seem necessary or desirable subject to the approval of the National Universities Commission.
“To ensure continuity in the administration of the university, all property held by or on behalf of the Yaba Polytechnic shall be vested in the University and be held by it for the purposes of the University. Notably, all staff of the Polytechnic are hereby transferred to the University and previous service in the Polytechnic shall count as service for the purposes of any pension payable by the University.
” The institution is prepared to undertake the educational and other modifications that are a natural corollary of transforming to a university. The institution is also prepared to remains true to its core mandate of producing well-trained manpower capable of driving the technological, management and business goals of the nation.
“In this regard, it will seek to emulate the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) which has built upon a tradition of distinction to become one of the world’s foremost educational institutions.
By Francesca Hangeior
A human rights lawyer and counsel for the Indigenous People of Biafra, Ifeanyi Ejiofor, has faulted the Amnesty International report on Okigwe killings, describing it as “hasty and full of inconsistencies”, just as he called for a thorough, impartial, and evidence-based investigation.
Recall that some yet-to-be-identified armed men reportedly ambushed and killed some travellers along the Okigwe Road in Imo State, some days ago.
The alleged killings have triggered mixed reactions, with a call for a thorough investigation to unravel the perpetrators.
But in a statement released on Tuesday, Ejiofor said the quick attribution of the killings to IPOB, without exhaustive verification, raises serious concerns about the integrity and neutrality of the Amnesty International report.
According to him, this approach does not align with the expected standards of a globally respected human rights organisation.
He said while he condemned the killing of the innocent travellers by yet-to-be-identified “heartless” perpetrators, he called on Nigerian security agencies to promptly and meticulously investigate the heinous crimes and ensure that those responsible are identified, apprehended, and prosecuted according to the law.
The statement read, “In light of the recent hasty statement issued by Amnesty International (Nigeria) on the Okigwe killings, it is imperative to underscore the need for a thorough, impartial, and evidence-based investigation.
“The quick attribution of the killings to IPOB, without exhaustive verification, raises serious concerns about the integrity and neutrality of the report.
“It must be unequivocally stated that no individual or authority, regardless of their constitutional powers, is permitted to take another’s life outside the due process enshrined in Section 33 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended). The sanctity of human life must remain inviolable.
“I call on Nigeria’s security agencies to promptly and meticulously investigate these heinous crimes and ensure that those responsible are identified, apprehended, and prosecuted according to the law.
“The security agencies should stop paying lip service as they often do, and actually conduct a thorough investigation into these dastardly and wanton killings.”
The human rights lawyer said upon a careful review of Amnesty International Nigeria’s statement, several inconsistencies and troubling lapses were observed, such as “questionable sources of casualty figures, premature attribution of blame, potential conflict of interest and ongoing threats in the region”.
“Amnesty International Nigeria reported specific casualty figures without disclosing any independent verification sources.
“This departs from their well-established protocol, which emphasises independent investigations often taking days or weeks before conclusions are drawn.
“While the police acknowledged the attack, they refrained from confirming exact casualty numbers or the real identity of the attackers. Amnesty’s conclusive link to IPOB, therefore, appears speculative and unsubstantiated.
“Concerns have also been raised about the neutrality of the Country Director of Amnesty International Nigeria, who use to hold a political appointment as Special Assistant to the Governor of Yobe State. This dual role casts a shadow over the objectivity of the organisation’s reporting.
“It is a well-known fact that remnants of armed elements loyal to Simon Ekpa continue to destabilise communities across the South-East. While this remains a security concern demanding urgent state intervention, it should not justify rushed attributions of blame without due diligence,” he added.
According to him, national and international stakeholders must demand a credible, unbiased, and fact-driven investigation into the Okigwe killings.
He insisted that the loss of innocent lives must not be politicised or sensationalised, adding that justice must not only be done but must be seen to be done, both to honour the victims and to safeguard the rule of law in our democracy.
“Only the truth, firmly established through rigorous investigation, can pave the path to justice and lasting peace,” he said.
By Francesca Hangeior
The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, on Tuesday, slated June 27 to deliver judgement on the suit the lawmaker representing Kogi Central, Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, filed to quash the six-month suspension that was slammed on her by the Senate.
Justice Binta Nyako okayed the matter for judgement, after all the parties adopted their final briefs of argument.
Cited as defendants in the suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/384/2025, are Clerk of the National Assembly, the Senate, the Senate President, Mr. Godswill Akpabio, as well as and the Chairman of Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges, and Public Petitions, Senator Nedamwen Imasuen.
The embattled lawmaker, through her team of lawyers led by Mr. Jubril Okutekpa, SAN, urged the court to invalidate her suspension which she said was done in disobedience to a valid court order.
However, the defendants challenged the jurisdiction of the court to meddle in what they termed as an internal affair of the Senate.
More so, the defendants accused the plaintiff of breaching an order the court made on April 4, which gagged the parties from making public utterances on the matter pending before it.
The Senate President, Akpabio, through his lawyer, Mr. Kehinde Ogunwumiju, SAN, specifically drew the attention of the court to what he described as “a satirical apology” the plaintiff tendered to him on her Facebook page.
Akpabio insisted that the said apology made mockery of the order of the court.
Meanwhile, before she adjourned the matter for judgement, Justice Nyako said she would first consider the issue of contempt that was raised by the parties before deciding all the preliminary objections.
The trial judge stressed that Natasha’s suit raised “recondite issues of law” that would require judicial interpretation.
It will be recalled that Justice Nyako took over the matter following the recusal of the previous judge, Obiora Egwuatu, who had in a ruling on March 25, returned the case-file after the Senate President accused him of bias.
Justice Egwuatu had on March 4, issued an interim order that stopped the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions from going ahead with the disciplinary proceeding that was initiated against Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan over an allegation that she flouted rules of the legislative house.
He held that the disciplinary process should be placed on hold, pending the determination of the suit that was brought before him by the embattled female lawmaker.
More so, Justice Egwuatu gave defendants in the matter, 72 hours to show cause why it should not issue an order of interlocutory injunction to stop them from probing the plaintiff for alleged misconduct, without affording her the privileges stipulated in the 1999 Constitution, as amended, the Senate Standing Order 2023, and the Legislative Houses (Powers and Privileges) Act.
The interim orders followed an ex-parte application and an affidavit of urgency that was brought before the court by the lawmaker.
However, despite the orders of the court, the Senate Committee held its sitting and suspended the plaintiff for six months.
In a subsequent ruling, Justice Egwuatu amended the interim order he issued in favour of the plaintiff by vacating the aspect that barred the Senate from undertaking any activity within the pendency of the suit.
Not long after the orders were made, the Senate President filed a motion to query the powers of the court to interfere in the affairs of the Senate.
The Kogi state federal lawmaker approached the court after she was summoned to appear before the disciplinary committee following a faceoff she had with the Senate President during plenary on February 20.
While protesting alleged arbitrary change of her seating arrangement, the lawmaker repeatedly raised a point of order to be allowed to speak, even though she had been overruled by the Senate President.
Irked by her conduct, the Senate President referred her case to the Ethics Committee.
In a television interview she granted on February 28, Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan alleged that her troubles in the Senate began after she rejected unwanted advances from the Senate President, Akpabio.
In an ex-parte application she brought before the court, the lawmaker applied for an order to declare any action the Committee would take within the pendency of her suit, as, “null, void, and of no effect.”
Specifically, the court, in the interim orders it made on Tuesday, held: “It is hereby ordered as follows: An order of this Honourbale Court is made granting leave to the Plaintiff/Applicant to serve the 2nd – 4th Defendants/Respondents with the Originating Summons and all other accompanying processes in this Suit by substituted means, to wit: by serving same through the 1st Defendant (Clerk of the National Assembly) or pasting same on the premises of the National Assembly and publishing same in two national dailies.
“An Order of Interim Injuction of this Honourable Court is made restraining the 2nd Defendant/Defendant’s Committee on Ethics, Privileges, and Code of Conduct, headed by the 4th Defendant, from proceeding with the purported investigation against the Plaintiff/Applicant for alleged misconduct, sequel to the events that occurred at the plenary of the 2nd Defendant on the 20th day of February 2025, pursuant to the referral by the 2nd Defendant on the 25th of February 2025, pending the hearing and determination of the Motion on Notice for interlocutory injunction.
As well as, “An order of this Honourable Court is made directing the 1st – 4th Defendants to show cause within 72 hours upon the service of this order on them, why an order of interlocutory injunction should not be granted against them, restraining them from proceeding with the purported investigation against the Plaintiff for alleged misconduct without affording her privileges as stipulated in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (As Amended), the Senate Standing Order 2023, and the Legislative Houses (Powers and Privileges) Act.”
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