Monday, 22nd September 2025 was indeed a significant day in the lives of Nigerian women. It was the day the House of Representatives set aside for the National Public Hearing on Constitution Alteration Bills, including the Reserved Seats Bill - HB 1349. The frenzy that preceded the hearing was infectious - many committees were set up to manage various aspects of the campaign for the passage of HB 1349. (See my related blog post - dayokusa.blogspot.com/2025/08/nigeria-reserved-seats-bill-hb-1349.html) I was there live to express solidarity for the Bill.
The atmosphere was colourful with a peaceful procession from the Maryam Babangida National Centre for Women Development (MBCWD) to Congress Hall, Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja. Hundreds of women came out for the procession turned rally. It is important to emphasise the fact that Nigerian women were guided by ethics and decorum throughout the event(s). During the procession wheelbarrows containing Memodanda in support of HB 1349 were pushed by prominent Nigerian women! Other women placed similar documents on their heads! Some were beating little drums, some had tamborines, while others were singing and dancing happily...The public hearing was held in spite of the fact that the National Assembly (NASS) is on recess!
There were 88 Bills (apart from those for the creation of new states listed in the 'Summarised Compendium of Bills before the House Committee on Constitution Review for Input at National Public Hearing'. But it appeared HB 1349 was the most important Bill on the table because of the ovewhelming presence of Nigerian women from within and outside Nigeria. Lest I forget that Police Band did not disappoint with their state of the art music 'oozing' in the background inside Congress Hall, Transcorp Hilton Hotel, venue of the Public Hearing...
What exactly does HB 1349 entail? HB 1349 is No. 41 on the list of 88 Bills in the Summarised Compedium of Bills before the House of Representatives Committee on Constitution Review. The Bill proposes to amend Sections 48, 49, 71, 77, 91 and 117 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (1999), reserving seats for women in the National Assembly and State Houses of Assembly. This would provide for 37 additional women-only seats in the Senate (1 per state + FCT), 37 additional women-only seats in the House of Representatives (1 per state + FCT) as well as 108 women-only seats (3 per state) in State Houses of Assembly. This would create 182 women-only constituencies in the legislature at national and sub-national levels, exclusively contestable by women
Why this Bill? The showing of women in Parliament at the national level, NASS, is a mere 4% in Senate! This is unacceptable in a country where women constitute about half the population. Nigeria is performing very poorly as regards inclusion of the female gender in governance. HB 1349 when ascented to, is expected to be in operation for 16 years, by which time, hopefully, more women would have been voted into Parliament at both the national and sub-national levels. We should note here that HB 1349 should be considered alongside the following:
1) HB 1931: A Bill for an Act to further alter the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (1999) to provide for Special Seats for Physically Challeged Persons in Nigeria's Federal, State, and local Government Legislative Houses & for Related Matters.
2) HB 1588: A Bill for an Act to Alter the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (1999) to promote inclusion & Participation of Women In Governance for Diversity, Good Governance & Related Matters.
Although there were many Bills listed, the support for the RSB was overwhelming, almost intimidationg. As mentioned earlier, hundreds of women were there to express their support in various ways: Prominent women pushed wheelbarrows which contained numerous copies of the RSB - HB 1349 from MBNCWD to Transcorp Hilton Hotel! Trust the women: The peaceful march was turned into a flamboyant road show! There were cardboards with inscriptions like: I support the Reserved Seats for Women Bill, Women should be at the table, Pass HB 1349 Now, Crucial legislation delayed is justice denied, etc. This level of support for any Bill is unprecedented - Only the 'Not too young to run' Bill comes close...
Some of those present were:
*Sen. Godswill Akpabio (Represented by Sen. Onyekachi Nwaebonyi) - Senate President
*Hon. Dr. Tajudeen Abbas - Speaker, House of Representatives (HoR)
*Hon. Dr. Bejamin Okezie Kalu - Deputy Speaker HoR & Chairman, Committee on Constitution Review
*Hon. Kafilat Adetola Ogbara - Chairman HoR Committee on Women Affairs & Social Development
*Senator George Akume - Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) & Representative of the President
*Sen. Ita Enang - Politician/Lawyer
*Richard Montgomery (Represented) - British High Commissioner to Nigeria
*EU Resident Representative
*Mohamed Malick Fall - UNDP Resident Representative
*Ms. Beatrice Eyong - UN Women Country Representative
*Oba Abimbola Owoade - Alafin of Oyo (Led his team to present the request for the creation of 'New Oyo State')
*Igwe Alfred Achebe - Obi of Onitsha
*Justice Sidi Mohammad Bage - Emir of Lafia
*Prof. James Ayatse - Tor Tiv
*Alhaji Yahaya Abubakar - Etsu Nupe/Chairman Niger State Council of Traditional Rulers
*Representatives of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), National Security Adviser (NSA), Chief of Defence Staff (CDS),
*Clement Nwankwo - CEO PLAC (Technical Expert & Lead Consultant on the Review of the Constitution. He presented highlights of the Bills for Constituion Amendment)
*Frank Nweke Jr - Former Minister (Presented request for Diaspora Voting & Independent Candidature)
The following spoke in support of HB 1349 & related Bills:
*Sen. Florence Ita-Giwa - Politician/a.k.a. 'Mama Bakasi'
*Iyom Barr. Josephine Anenih - Fmr. Minister of Women Affairs
*Prof. Joy Ezeilo (SAN) - Life Member Body of Benchers, Activist
*Mrs. Joke Silva - Veteran Actress
*Ministry of Women Affairs (Represented)
*Mrs. Asabe Vilita - DG MBCWD
*Mary Ikoku - Politician
*Irene Awuna- President, League of Women Voters
*BAOBAB for Women's Rights
*Chief (Mrs) Osasu Igbinedion-Ogwuche
*Lois Auta - Network of Women with Disability
*POWA/NAOWA/DEPOWA
*Nigeria Women Leaders in Political Parties
*International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA)
*National Council of Women's Societies (NCWS)
Many spoke passionately in favour of the passage of HB 1349. Let's take snipets from their submission(s):
Sen. Godswill Akpabio (Represented by Sen. Onyekachi Nwaebonyi): Expressed support for HB 1349 and other Bills
Hon. (Dr) Tajudeen Abbas: When legislation is delayed, justice is denied. HB 1349 should be passed and ascented to.
Hon. (Dr) Benjamin Okezie Kalu: He is the sponsor of HB 1349. The Constitutional provision for Amendment is to enable citizens' involvement in governance. The people are the enablers and disciples of democracy. We are happy that you all came out today to build a better Nigeria.
Prof. Joy Ezeilo: The representation of women in Nigeria at national and state Parliaments remains alarmingly low, with wome securing less than 5% of available seats. Where the power is, women are not. A democracy not engendered is endangered. Comparative analysis of Nigeria vis-a-vis other African countries (Inter-Parliamentary Union - IPU data database 2023) exposes the fact that many have achieved at least the 30% benchmark set by the Beijing DEclaration Platform for Action (BDPA 1995) for women in power and decision making.
1) Rwanda: Women constitute 61.3% of the Lower House and 34.6% of the Upper Legislative Chamber
2) South Africa: Women represent 46.2% of the Lower House and 44.4% of the Upper Legislative House
3) Senagal: 46% are women in Parliament
4) Namibia: Women hold 44.2% of seats in the Lower House and 14.3% in the Upper Legislative Chamber
5) Mozambique: Women are 43.2% in Parliament
6) Cape Verde: Women make up 41.7% of Parliament
7) Burundi: Women hold 38.2% in the Lower House and 41.0% of the Upper Legislative Chamber
8) Cameroon: Women hold 34.5% of the Lower House and 29% of the Upper Legislative Chamber
9) Uganda: Women hold 33.8% of Parliament
10) Angola: Women occupy 33.6% of Parliament
11) South Sudan: Women represent 32.4% in the Lower House and 32.1% in the Upper Legislative Chamber
12) Zimbabwe: Women make up 30.6% of the Upper Chambers and 44.2% of the Lower House
13) Tanzania: Women hold 37.4% of Parliamentary seats
Faced with these sobering statistics, Nigerian women across the country unite in strong support of the bold legislative action of the 10 NASS.
Irene Awuna-Ikyegh (President, League of Women Voters in Nigeria): I represent Nigerian women from the 36 states of Nigeria. I defer to our mother, Iyom (Barr) Josephine Anenih. The passage of the Bill would represent a new chapter in the lives of women. Many Memoranda have been written about HB 1349. They are made available to the Committee on Constitution Review...
Mary Ikoku (Politician & Activist): I support both HB 1349 & HB 1588 on the inclusion of women in governance. There should be accelerated passage of the Bills and State adoption of the RSB. Besides, spouses of Nigerian women should be granted Nigeria citizenship.
International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA): The language of the Constitution needs to be changed to make it less masculine and more neutral so that the female gender may feel included. Non-Nigerian spouses of women should be able to become Nigerian citizens via marriage. Affirmative action of at least 35% should be upheld for women. We support HB 1349...
Chief Osasu Igbinedion-Ogwuche: I have taken the HB 1349 campaign all over the country. I support the Bill.
Lois Auta (Network of Women with Disability): WWD have zero participation in every sector. We need to move from exclusion to inclusion and the participation. I commend the 10th NASS giving 5% to WWD. There's productivity in disability. WWD is a protected category in Chapter 4 of the Nigerian Constitution (1999). Deputy Speaker, House of Reps please, please, please come down to receive our submission...
On the whole, Nigerian women were full of praise for the 10th NASS for going this far with the Bills for Constitution Amendment that impact their welfare both at the national, sub-national and family levels. We note that though the NASS is on recess, the venue was moved to Transcorp Hilton Hotel, with MBCWD as incubator for the peaceful rally. Besides, the Senate President sent his Representative. The Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives were there. Other principal officers of both the Lower and Upper Houses were also there. To all the He for Shes and Amazons that contributed to the highly successful public hearing, thank you all so much. We are confident that this momentum, if sustained, would translate to HB 1349 and related Bills being passed by the NASS. Our amiable President, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, a He-for-She, would ascent to the Bill.
Bravo to Nigerian women for this innovation of using wheelbarrows accompanied by singing with percussion from drums and tamborines to carry relevant documents during the peaceful procession from the MBCWD to Transcorp Hilton Hotel. Let's watch out: Other groups might begin to copy this wheelbarrow ingenuity. Congrats to my gender for this feat...
