Nigerian lawmakers have proposed a bill to make it compulsory for every state to produce at least one female senator, as part of effort to have more women in government.
According to information gathered, this bill will soon come up for second reading in the House of Representatives.
Taiwo Oluga, Chairman of House Committee on Women in Parliament, who recently received the Legal Defence and Assistance Project, a coalition partner to Advance Gender Equality in Abuja, said the bill was an initiative of the committee and part of the efforts made to increase women’s representation in government.
“What we are proposing in the bill is to have at least a (female) senator from every state. It can be two out of the three. It is not just because the female wants to occupy positions. We want to complement the efforts of the men. We are not in competition, just to complement them.
“It is because we know we have women who are intelligent and are capable in this country. We have females that have the ability. They have demonstrated the ability. We are just 12 in this 9th House, but our contributions on the floor cannot be swept under the carpet, the house recognises that.”
The lawmaker noted that nobody could address the country’s issues without the participation of women.
Ms. Oluga said further that following the committee’s interventions, all 20 female lawmakers in the National Assembly were included in the Constitution Review Committee.
“My own personal opinion is to have 360 members divided by two; how we are going to do it, let the political parties and the INEC cooperate and let everyone be on the same page and make it a reality.
“If you cannot do that, in 2023, give us the 35 percent affirmative action, and that is what we are doing in collaboration with all stakeholders,” she added.
