Ebonyi State political Stakeholders have avowed their commitment to support the Reserved Seat Bill and ensure its inclusion in the review of the1999 Nigerian Constitution, as amended.
The Reserved Seat bill in Nigeria, also known as the Specific Seats Bill, aims to increase women’s representation in the National and State Assemblies by creating additional seats that are contested and filled only by women.
The stakeholders made the commitment during a one-day State level Advocacy Town Hall meeting held Tuesday in Abakaliki, the Ebonyi State capital.
The Townhall was focused on building consensus and consolidating memorandum to be presented to the Constitutional Review Committee during the upcoming zonal public hearings.
It was organised by a Non-Governmental Organisation, Women Aid Collective, as part of its “Advance Women’s Political Participation in Nigeria” project, sponsored by the UN Women with support from the government of Canada.
Speaking on the essence of the meeting, the Head of Programmes, WACOL, Nkechi Igwe, who represented the Executive Director of the Organisation, Professor Joy Ngozi Ezeilo (SAN), decried the low level of women representation in elective positions in Nigeria, describing it as unacceptable.
Igwe said: “Looking at the percentage of women both in the National and State Assemblies, it is quite infinitesimal compared to the efforts women put into politics.
“We observed that when it comes to voting and those that register to vote during elections, it is always more women, but when it comes to the number coming out for elective positions, we have a limited number of women representing us there.
“And we know that there’s no society that can survive without the work of women.
“So, what we are asking for is a specially reserved constituency seat exclusively to be contested by women.
“Having drawn lessons from countries that have adopted this reform through constitutional review and how it positively impacted their governance system, we find the opportunity of the review of the Nigerian constitution, as amended, to bring out this issue.”
Igwe explained that her organisation, apart from taking the campaign to the grassroots, has developed a strategy of engaging volunteers who would take the campaign to churches, markets and other such public places to explain to the people the essence of the Reserved Seat Bill and win their support.
She added: “The UN Women is supporting almost the 36 states of the federation for this advocacy to go on simultaneously because we want a lot of people to be aware of this issue of Reserved seat, so that when the zonal hearing comes up, a lot of people must have been aware and throw their support behind the bill.
“We know that voting for the reserved seat bill is a win for all Nigerians.”
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In a presentation, the Project Programme Manager and lead facilitator at the event, Helen Kalu, regretted that women currently occupy only three percent of the seats in the Senate and four percent in the House of Representatives.
Kalu noted that there are only 48 women among the 990 state legislators, while out of the 1,019 female candidates who contested the 2023 State Assembly elections, only 48 were successful, resulting in a mere 4.7 percent success rate.
She further explained that the bill is a temporary measure designed to boost women’s participation in decision-making, with a “sunset clause” that would abolish the seats after a set period of 16 years.
She expressed joy that the gender bill, which also incorporates special seats for women, has passed the first reading in Ebonyi State.
Participants were in consensus, upholding the importance of the bill in harnessing the leadership and representative capacities of women in nation building as well as ensure equity and inclusiveness in decision making and governance.
Representing the state actors in the discussion, the State Commissioner for Inter-party Affairs and Labour Matters, Chief Philip Ogbonnaya Okorie, noted that Ebonyi State has already given women the pride of place in governance through many sensitive appointive posts, adding that Governor Francis Nwifuru in his People’s Charter of needs agenda was always disposed to supporting all initiatives aimed at giving the best to the people.
Okorie assured of the state government’s support for the bill, and called on women to always strive to show up with impact in the political arena.
For the royal fathers, Eze Paul Ogodo Egbe from Agalegu Ishieke Community in his submission enumerated many women who have done very well in positions of trust, including Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, describing the womenfolk as prudent managers of resources.
Egbe stated: “We are products of women, and anything concerning women in the society should be taken seriously.
“Women are prudent managers, so we are supporting this bill 100 percent.”
Others who spoke, including Lorieth Nwafor for the Civil Society Organisations; Godwin Ukwu for the Inter-party Advisory Council; and Reverend Brutus Edafe Arumuowa for the Church, pledged to employ their various platforms to promote awareness concerning the bill as well as garner support for it.
While Nwafor harped on the importance of security for women contestants in elective posts, Ukwu, who is also the State Secretary of Action Alliance Party, described the bill as timely, stating that while five political parties leaders in Ebonyi State are women, his party currently has four women occupying prominent positions in its leadership hierarchy.
For the church, Arumuowa encouraged women to improve their capacities through training, enhance political participation through membership of political parties, learn from good mentors as well as make useful impacts within the party, adding: “The situation in Nigeria today calls for a woman like Esther to deliver the nation.”
Meanwhile, all discussants unanimously cautioned against sacrificing excellence and meritocracy on the alters of the reserved seat bill, urging women to always present their best for support in elective positions.
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