Reps set to increase number of seats in National Assembly

Reps set to increase number of seats in National Assembly

The House of Representatives has proposed a constitutional amendment to create special reserved seats in the National Assembly — 10% for women and 5% for persons with disabilities (PWDs).

SundiataPost reports that under this proposal, 83 new seats would be added for women: 55 in the House of Representatives (raising its size from 360 to 415) and 28 in the Senate (increasing the total number of seats in the National Assembly from 469 to 552).

The Speaker of the House, Tajudeen Abbas, announced this on Tuesday during the opening of the 2025 National Assembly Open Week and the launch of the 10th House Midterm Legislative Scorecard in Abuja.

He explained that the planned amendment aims to ensure gender and disability inclusion in Nigeria’s lawmaking process. The reserved seats would be filled through direct elections on separate ballots and shared across states to maintain regional balance.

According to Abbas, five per cent of the already existing seats would also be set aside for persons with disabilities, and their candidates would be nominated by officially recognized disability advocacy groups.

Abbas said:
“A central feature of our inclusive governance proposals is the introduction of constitutionally guaranteed reserved seats for women and persons with disabilities. Under the draft amendment, ten per cent (10%) of seats in both the Senate and the House of Representatives would be set aside for women, apportioned by state to ensure regional balance.

“These seats would be filled through direct elections on separate ballots, with staggered terms to promote continuity and mentorship. Five per cent of seats would be reserved for persons with disabilities, with candidates nominated by accredited disability advocacy organisations. Reserved-seat representatives would enjoy the same rights, privileges, and committee assignments as their peers, reinforcing their full integration into legislative work.”

He also highlighted the low number of women in the parliament since Nigeria’s independence, noting that women held less than 1% of parliamentary seats in 1960. That figure only grew to 2% by 1990, and in 1999, women had just 3.9% of seats in the House and 4% in the Senate. Even today, women’s representation remains very low despite making up half of the population.

The Speaker cited global examples such as Rwanda and Senegal, where constitutional quotas raised women’s representation from under 5% to over 30% in just one election cycle.