Youth Committee in Parliament of the House of Representatives, chaired by the Hon. Olamijuwonlo Alao-Akala on Tuesday vowed to support the bill that seeks to provide special seats for women in the National Assembly and the 36 Houses of State Assembly.
The proposed bill seeks to create a total of 108 additional seats in the National and State Houses of Assembly to be contested by women from across the country.
Honorable. Alao-Akala stated this in Abuja while addressing journalists on the sidelines of an interactive stakeholder session organized by the Legislative Defense Committee on the Reserved Seats for Women Bill, created by President Abbas Tajudeen with the mandate to mobilize lawmakers and stakeholders for the bill.
In the interactive session, parliament’s youth committee was launched to campaign for the bill and lobby other lawmakers to support it.
Honorable. Alao-Akala said the Committee supports the bill and will do everything in its power to ensure it is passed.
“So I am happy that they have given me the target. I am going to face it head on, I will make sure that all the stones are moved to ensure that we get into the bill and ensure that all laymen can understand the clauses and also accept them.
“A lot of people who don’t understand the bill say it’s going to affect the current position of the legislature, but it’s not going to affect it.
“So that is the kind of sensitization that we will do so that people understand this bill; it is a bill that will help us in governance, in the development and in the advancement of the country, locally and also in the international community.
“We are a country that supports women, not a country that discriminates; we are a country that understands the need for inclusion in governance,” she said.
Earlier, stakeholders, led by the Executive Director of Ene Obi Center for Development, Mrs. Ene Obi, commended the support of the House of Representatives for the bill.
He said stakeholders are excited by the committee’s decision to champion the campaign for the bill having benefited from the Not Too Young to Run Act.
“So now we are doing the same thing to get the special seats bill passed; it is so that our children can also compete and enter parliament.
“What we have now is a male Parliament across the board and we are, we are very excited that they have endorsed it, we are also excited by the promise of the Senate President who said that the 10th assembly will not scrap the women’s bill now.
“This bill has the full support of the Speaker of the House of Representatives and, in fact, we are very grateful and we call on everyone to be part of this history, because history is about making it and we will appreciate all the people who join in,” he said.
Earlier, the Special Assistant to the Spokesperson on Women Affairs, Mrs. Yeside Olasimbo, said the endorsement and resolve to champion the campaign for the bill was the right step in the right direction.
“Today they have backed the bill and I think it is the right step, they are taking it head on and saying they will join us in advocacy to put pressure on members and also help us reduce the stress of having to meet with all 360 members at once.
“I am super excited and elated that they are opening their hands to us, this is a beautiful moment for Nigerian women,” she said.
Chairwoman of the House Committee on Women’s Affairs, Hon. Kafilat Ogbara, said the time has come for Nigeria to take a bold step towards gender inclusion by passing the Constitution Amendment Bill seeking special seats reserved for women in the National and State Houses of Assembly.
Honorable. Ogbara said that while the historical record of women’s representation in politics has been discouraging, there is now strong political will in the executive and legislative arms of government to bring about change.
He said the proposed legislation, which seeks to create 108 additional elective seats exclusively for women, represents a crucial step towards national development, inclusivity and strengthening Nigeria’s democratic image globally.
“The historical trajectory has been a tragedy, but we are very positive and optimistic because the moment we have is now. For a bill like this to be passed, what we need most is political will, and we have it. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is a gender-sensitive leader.
“He is the only president who has allowed his wife to contest for the Senate seat three times, and today she herself is a senator. The vice president is a legislator, as is the Secretary to the Government of the Federation. These are people who understand the value of what this bill represents,” Ogbara said.