The campaign for the passage of Nigeria’s Special Seats Bill is gathering steam as UN Women, in collaboration with the Women Political Participation Partners Working Group and other key stakeholders, intensifies efforts to address the persistent gender gap in political representation.
Currently, women occupy only 3% of seats in the Senate and 3.9% in the House of Representatives, a disparity described as “alarmingly low.”
UN Women Country Representative to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Ms. Beatrice Eyong, disclosed this in Abuja during a stakeholder engagement—a situation Eyong described as “alarmingly low” for a country of Nigeria’s size and democratic aspirations.
The event, themed “Special Seats Bill – Opportunities and Challenges: Options for State and Grassroots Advocacy Positioning Citizens for Nationwide Conversation,” brought together key actors to strategise on amplifying support for the bill.
Eyong emphasised that the bill, when passed into law, would mark a major leap forward in amplifying women’s voices and securing their representation in governance.
She noted that it proposes a temporary but essential corrective measure, creating women-only seats in the legislature to fast-track political inclusion.
The bill seeks to amend Sections 48, 49, and 91 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to create 74 additional seats in the National Assembly and 108 in State Houses of Assembly, bringing the total of new reserved seats to 182 across federal and state legislatures.
She revealed that UN Women has built strategic partnerships to garner support for the Special Seats Bill across the country.
Eyong said: “UN Women has built strategic partnerships that are already yielding important advocacy results in terms of support for the Special Seats Bill across the country. Fifteen radio stations and two TV stations are hosting weekly programmes on the Special Seats Bill. The campaign is also being catalysed through newspapers and different media platforms.
“Further, UN Women will support the convening of 120 town halls across 24 states to give citizens the opportunity to interact with the bill and prepare memoranda to be submitted to the National Assembly Joint Committee on Constitutional Reform during their state-level and zonal public hearings.
“This will be supported by over 500,000 physical endorsements of the bill in the 24 states. This great campaign is made possible courtesy of the governments of Canada and the United Kingdom. We salute these two governments in their resolve to walk this journey with the Nigerian women.”
In her remarks, Barrister Ebere Ifendu, Chair, Women Political Participation Partners Working Group, explained that the intent of the bill “is to provide for a temporary specific measure to fast-track women’s political participation in Nigeria. The seats will be tenured for a specific number of years and may be reviewed by the National Assembly.”
She pointed out that the meeting was convened to assess the opportunities and challenges surrounding the bill, refine strategies for national and grassroots advocacy, and coordinate efforts to ensure the bill gains the support it needs in both houses of the National Assembly and across at least 24 State Houses of Assembly.
Continuing, she added: “The next few months (from May to August 2025) will be decisive. They demand from us a united voice, strategic action, and fervent commitment.
“We must engage our representatives in the National Assembly, mobilise citizens, raise critical awareness, amplify grassroots support, coordinate efforts, and ensure that women, including young women and women with disabilities, are not just participants but leaders in shaping the future of our democracy.”
