Constitution Amendment Bill Seeks Creation Of 12 New Seats In Senate, 37 In Reps, 108 In State Assemblies Exclusively For Women
Constitution Amendment Bill Seeks Creation Of 12 New Seats In Senate, 37 In Reps, 108 In State Assemblies Exclusively For Women
The bill, designed as a temporary special measure to boost women’s representation and promote inclusive governance, would introduce a new system of indirect elections through Electoral Colleges supervised by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
A proposed constitutional amendment to increase women’s participation in Nigeria’s legislative institutions seeks to create 157 additional elective seats reserved exclusively for women across the National Assembly and the 36 state Houses of Assembly.
SaharaReporters gathered that under the proposal, 12 new seats would be added to the Senate, 37 additional seats created in the House of Representatives, while each of the 36 state Houses of Assembly would gain three extra seats for women, bringing the total number of new state legislative seats to 108.
The bill, designed as a temporary special measure to boost women’s representation and promote inclusive governance, would introduce a new system of indirect elections through Electoral Colleges supervised by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
According to details of the proposed amendments, the Senate would retain its current structure of three senators from each state and one from the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), but would be expanded through the creation of two additional seats for women in each of the country’s six geo-political zones.
The proposed arrangement would add 12 female senators to the upper legislative chamber.
Under the bill, the new seats would rotate among states within each geo-political zone according to guidelines to be determined by an Act of the National Assembly.
The proposal also seeks to increase the membership of the House of Representatives from 360 to 397 by creating one additional seat for a woman in each of the 36 states and the FCT.
The newly created seats would function as special constituencies and would not be subject to the existing constituency delimitation rules.
At the state level, each House of Assembly would receive three additional seats reserved for women, with one seat allocated to each senatorial district within a state.
This would result in the creation of 108 new seats across the 36 state legislatures.
The proposed amendments stipulate that all candidates for the special seats must be women sponsored by registered political parties and must meet the constitutional requirements applicable to members of the National Assembly and state legislatures.
Unlike regular elections conducted through direct voting by the electorate, occupants of the new seats would emerge through Electoral Colleges established in each state and the FCT.
Membership of the Electoral Colleges would include elected local government chairpersons and vice-chairpersons, councillors, members of state Houses of Assembly, members of the House of Representatives, and senators from the relevant state.
For the FCT, Area Council officials would replace local government representatives.
Each member of the Electoral College would have one vote, and elections would be conducted through secret balloting under INEC’s supervision.
The bill further provides that women elected through the special-seat arrangement would enjoy the same tenure, privileges, rights, immunities and responsibilities as lawmakers elected through conventional constituency-based elections.
It also outlines a separate recall process for holders of the special seats.
Under the proposed mechanism, a recall process can only commence if at least half of the members of the relevant Electoral College sign a petition. Following verification by INEC, at least two-thirds of Electoral College members must approve the recall through a secret ballot.
The proposal would also amend several sections of the Constitution, including provisions relating to recall procedures, electoral timelines, election petitions, constituency delineation and INEC’s powers.
In addition, new constitutional definitions would be introduced for terms such as “additional special seat”, “electoral college” and “geo-political zone”, while the six geo-political zones and their constituent states would be formally listed in the Constitution.
According to the explanatory memorandum accompanying the bill, the additional seats are intended as a temporary affirmative-action measure to address the persistent underrepresentation of women in Nigeria’s political institutions.
The proposed arrangement would take effect from the first general election after the amendment comes into force and would be subject to review after 16 years.
