Tinubu to transmit women, PWD reserved-seat bills — Abbas

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President Bola Tinubu is set to transmit executive bills to the National Assembly seeking special seats for women and Persons with Disabilities in the federal and state legislatures, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, said on Thursday.

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Abbas said the proposed legislation would create additional seats for the two groups beyond the existing elective seats, describing the move as a major inclusivity initiative of the 10th National Assembly.

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He disclosed this in Abuja at a reception organised by the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations in honour of the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Global Alliance for Public Relations and Communication Management, Prof Justin Green.

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The Speaker said the proposed legislation on reserved seats for women had been taken to the Ministry of Justice for fine-tuning, while a similar executive bill for PWDs would be transmitted within weeks.

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He said, “We have come up with a lot of innovations in the 10th Assembly since 2023. Lawmakers are working on some areas that we are very optimistic will succeed before the end of this tenure. One of them is to ensure that ‘women’s inclusivity’ is given prominence.

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“We have persuaded Mr President, and he has accepted, for the very first time, to sponsor executive bills through our effort to the National Assembly to provide special seats for women. And that will be independent of the regular seats that are being contested.

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“So it is coming any time now because it is a request that he has taken to the Ministry of Justice to fine-tune and represent. We also initiated and facilitated, through Mr President to also, for the very first time, the inclusion of representation of the physically-challenged (PWDs) in the National Assembly and subnationals.

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“We are hoping that within the next few weeks, Mr President will also bring an executive bill that will enable Persons with Disabilities to have a say in both the national and subnational levels of our parliament.”

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The proposed Reserved Seats for Women Bill is part of the ongoing constitutional review and seeks to create additional seats exclusively for women without displacing existing legislative constituencies.

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Under the proposal, 37 additional seats would be created in the Senate and another 37 in the House of Representatives, with one seat for each state and the Federal Capital Territory.

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Each of the 36 State Houses of Assembly would also get three additional seats reserved for women, one for each senatorial district. The proposed arrangement would operate for four general election cycles, or 16 years, before a review.

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The proposal is intended to address Nigeria’s historically low representation of women in elective office. The 10th National Assembly currently has four women in the Senate and 16 in the House of Representatives, according to legislative reform data.

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A separate bill before the House, HB 1931, seeks to create special seats for physically challenged persons in the National Assembly, State Houses of Assembly and local government legislative councils.

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The proposal provides for one additional PWD member from each of the six geopolitical zones in both the Senate and House.

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Abbas also said the National Assembly had maintained a strong working relationship between the Senate and House of Representatives.

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“The National Assembly, as you know, operates as a bicameral legislature where we have the Senate, on the one hand, and the House of Representatives, on the other. We are proud that the relationship between the two Chambers has been very good.

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“We operate seamlessly and collaborate on every matter of national importance that is brought before us. And the journey has been a very successful one. We operate independently but only collaborate where necessary,” he stated.

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Responding, Green praised Abbas and other National Assembly leaders for their efforts towards greater representation for women and PWDs in parliament.

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He said, “What you have done is phenomenal. And to be honest with you, while the blood of Global Alliance runs through me, I think the heart is in a man like you who actually delivers on all elements from young to old.”

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