Stakeholders advocating for the passage of the Reserved Seats Bill for Women have described the proposed legislation as one that would make for an inclusive democracy.

They stated that the proposed legislation, when approved, would mark a turning point for the nation’s democracy and alter the trajectory for governance in Nigeria.

Addressing a press conference ahead of the kickoff of the Zonal public hearings by the Senate Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution, slated for Enugu this weekend, stakeholders urged political leaders and citizens in the Southeast to support the bill.

Coordinator of the campaign in the southeast, Dr Adaora Onyechere Sydney Jack, said the bill was a bold legislative proposal that seeks to amend the constitution to guarantee women a minimum number of seats in federal and state legislatures.

“Nigeria is on the path to inclusive democracy and reserved seats for women is the bridge to get us there,” she said, adding that if passed, it would “be a turning point for Nigeria.”

She added: “If passed, the Reserved Seats Bill could alter the trajectory of Nigerian governance for generations. It would empower women to contest, lead, and legislate not as exceptions, but as equals. It could inspire a new era of leadership, one that prioritises education, healthcare, human rights, and community-centred growth. It will make Nigerian democracy whole.”

While expressing great pride in how far the National Assembly members had gone in supporting the proposed bill and how they had continued to echo the conviction, Onyechere lauded the Nigerian parliament for walking the talk for the first time, leading not just by promissory notes but by activation.

She dismissed the notion that the proposed bill was about preferential treatment for women, insisting that it is about institutional justice that “acknowledges that the rules of the game have always been rigged, and seeks to rebalance them in favour of a fairer, more participatory democracy.

“Democracy thrives not only through votes but through representation.

“Despite women constituting nearly 50 per cent of Nigeria’s population, they occupy less than seven per cent of seats in the National Assembly. That is not a coincidence; it is the result of decades of exclusion, societal bias, structural barriers, and political violence that disproportionately affect women.

“For decades, Nigerian women have been systematically underrepresented in the corridors of power. From state assemblies to the National Assembly, women account for a fraction of political leadership, a stark contrast in a nation where women constitute nearly half the population.

“The Reserved Seats Bill for women seeks to rewrite that imbalance by creating constitutionally guaranteed space for women in governance, not as a token gesture, but as a strategic necessity for national progress.

“This is not about privilege. It’s about justice. The Reserved Seats Bill is our vehicle for inclusive democracy for a system where the voices shaping policy reflect the diverse reality of our people,” she said.