• Over one million women submit petition, hundreds protest in Abuja
• Foreign missions rally behind empowerment initiative
• House launches debate on constitutional amendments to reshape democracy
• Group asks N’Assembly to remove Sharia provisions from Constitution
The long-awaited push for gender balance in Nigeria’s politics moved a step closer to reality yesterday as President Bola Tinubu, Senate President Godswill Akpabio, and Speaker of the House of Representatives Tajudeen Abbas openly declared their support for the Reserved Seats for Women Bill.
The bill, currently under consideration at the National Public Hearing on Constitution Alteration in Abuja, seeks to amend the 1999 Constitution to create additional seats in both the National Assembly and state legislatures specifically for women.
Advocates say it is a bold step toward correcting decades of systemic exclusion of women from decision-making and governance.
Tinubu, represented by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, stressed that constitutional reform must reflect today’s realities, safeguard equity, and strengthen Nigeria’s democracy.
“This process is about giving Nigerians renewed confidence that their voices matter in shaping the future of our democracy. The outcome will receive due attention as part of our collective quest to build a stronger and more united Nigeria,” Tinubu said.
Akpabio, represented by Deputy Majority Whip Onyekachi Nwaebonyi, emphasised that the constitution belongs to the people, not just the lawmakers.
“This hearing is your opportunity to shape a constitution that is people-oriented and inclusive. At the end of the day, history should record that the 10th National Assembly gave Nigerians a truly representative constitution,” he said.
Abbas described the Reserved Seats Bill as a “necessary legal instrument” for accelerating women’s inclusion in governance, stressing that it is not a matter of pity but of justice. He also revealed that lawmakers are considering additional reforms, including a quota for women in ministerial positions and legal recognition for persons with disabilities.
Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu, who chairs the Constitution Review Committee, called the bill “transformative,” adding that it is designed to end systemic exclusion.
“This is not symbolism. It is about giving women constitutional space to contribute meaningfully to policymaking and governance,” he declared.
In a powerful show of unity, over one million Nigerian women across all 36 states and the FCT submitted signed petitions demanding the speedy passage of the bill.
Presenting the signatures, Irene Awunah-Ikyegh, President of the League of Women Voters of Nigeria (NILOWV), described the bill as a “legacy opportunity” for the 10th Assembly.
“With only 15 women in the House of Representatives and four in the Senate, our democracy cannot be called inclusive. One woman senator per state, one representative per state, and additional seats in state assemblies would change this narrative forever,” she said.
She warned that failing to pass the bill would mean perpetuating a democracy that sidelines half of Nigeria’s population.
The call for women’s political inclusion has also drawn international endorsement. The British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Richard Montgomery; EU Ambassador to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Gautier Mignot; and UN Resident Coordinator, Mohammed Fall, all expressed support for the reform process.
Before the commencement of the hearing, hundreds of women protested in support of a bill seeking to add women-only seats in the Senate and House of Representatives.
A caravan of buses, vans, and a truck blasting lively Afrobeats wound its way through the city streets, led by protesting women demanding representation.
They later presented their memoranda, stressing that only inclusive governance could improve leadership in the country.
A representative of the Nigerian Armed Forces requested clarification on the omission of proposed legislation seeking to review the Armed Forces Act in the submitted compendium, stating that its inclusion is critical for a robust legal framework to strengthen national security and cohesion.
“The Armed Forces especially request clarification and reasons for the omission to better understand the status of the submission and the way forward. It will be appropriate for us to be informed of the reason for such an omission,” he stated.
Speaking on behalf of the National Council of Traditional Rulers, the Etsu of Nupe, Yahaya Abubakar, lamented the removal of traditional authorities’ roles from the 1999 Constitution.
Describing traditional rulers as a bridge between governance and the governed, he called for their formal recognition and assured governors that the move was not intended to whittle down their powers as chief executive officers of states.
“We urge this committee to ensure that our roles are integrated into the Constitution, so we can continue to mediate, administer, and maintain peace effectively,” he said.
President of the Network of Women with Disabilities, Lois Auta-Udonkanta, observed that persons with disabilities remain at zero level of participation in governance.
According to her, “We are excluded. We are underrepresented in every sector. In Kenya, we have a visually impaired woman who is a senator in Kenya’s parliament. What is Nigeria doing? As a team, it is time we move from exclusion to inclusion, from inclusion to participation, and from participation to representation. We also need to move from policy to practice.”
Former Minister for Information, Chief Frank Nweke Jnr, said there is a need to allow for diaspora voting and independent candidacy as a way to expand democratic inclusion in the country.
Nweke noted the Nigerian diaspora’s economic contribution, estimated at over $20 billion in remittances in 2024, and argued that Nigerians abroad should have the constitutional right to vote.
Similarly, a representative of the Alaafin of Oyo submitted proposals for the creation of additional local government areas in Oyo State, arguing that such reforms would improve administrative efficiency and equitable representation.
Commandant General of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Dr Ahmed Abubakar Audi, who was represented, called for constitutional recognition of the corps’ mandate and authority.
He urged amendments to Sections 2 and 4 of the Constitution to formalise their role, noting that the corps is involved in key responsibilities, including protecting government infrastructure, combating illegal mining, ensuring school safety, and regulating private security operators.
A representative of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) noted that ahead of the 2027 elections, there is a need for reforms to guide the process, particularly provisions for the electronic transmission of results.
He said this measure could enhance transparency and ensure free and fair elections, insisting that future elections must adopt mechanisms that instil confidence that votes are accurately counted.
Nigeria ranks among the lowest in Africa for women’s political representation, with women holding less than five per cent of parliamentary seats.
Advocates insist that passing the Reserved Seats Bill will not only correct historical imbalances but also strengthen governance by ensuring diverse voices at the table.
As the hearings continue, pressure is mounting on the 10th National Assembly to seize this moment to make history. For women across Nigeria, the Reserved Seats Bill is not just legislation; it is a promise of inclusion, justice, and a more representative democracy.
House launches debate on constitutional amendments to reshape democracy
The House of Representatives has commenced a national public hearing on constitutional amendment proposals that could fundamentally reshape the country’s political, security, and governance structures.
Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu, who chairs the House Committee on Constitution Review, declared that the exercise is “Nigeria’s most inclusive constitutional review in history,” stressing that its outcome must reflect the voices of citizens rather than the preferences of the political elite.
In his opening remarks at the public hearing yesterday, Kalu emphasised that the legitimacy of the new amendments will depend on their acceptance by Nigerians themselves.
He described the current stage of the process as “the culmination of months of public consultations across the six geopolitical zones,” during which citizens, civil society groups, traditional leaders, security agencies, and professional bodies submitted memoranda and testimonies.
Kalu traced Nigeria’s constitutional evolution from the 1922 Clifford Constitution to the present 1999 Constitution, arguing that every era has reflected the anxieties and aspirations of the time.
He noted, however, that the 1999 Constitution, drafted by the military, has remained contested for being less representative of Nigeria’s democratic will. For the amendments to take effect, they must secure two-thirds majority support in both chambers of the National Assembly and approval from at least 24 state Houses of Assembly.
Kalu cautioned that while the public hearing represents the “final stage of citizen engagement,” the bills still face “rigorous scrutiny, harmonisation with the Senate, and pruning by state assemblies.”
He urged Nigerians not to disengage after the hearings but to remain vigilant and hold lawmakers accountable until the reforms are passed.
Speaker of the House of Representatives, Abbas Tajudeen, described the hearing as “a significant moment in Nigeria’s democratic journey.”
Tajudeen praised Mr Kalu’s leadership in conducting zonal consultations that gathered the “hopes, concerns, and insights of Nigerians from every background.”
He stressed that this hearing unites those diverse voices into a single national conversation.
He highlighted the need for timeliness and closure, warning that constitutional reform often loses momentum when it drags on.
While the review contains 87 amendment bills, three areas stand out as defining battles that could alter the structure of Nigerian governance if passed.
State and community policing: One of the boldest proposals seeks to effectively create state and community police forces. This move follows calls that Nigeria’s centralised policing system has failed to address insecurity, leaving communities vulnerable to insurgency, banditry, and kidnappings.
The state police debate has been one of Nigeria’s longest-running constitutional controversies. Several past attempts to create it during the Obasanjo, Jonathan, and Buhari administrations were defeated by fears of abuse by governors and political actors. This current effort, however, comes against the backdrop of unprecedented security crises that many say demand localised solutions.
Reserved seats for women and persons with disabilities: Another landmark amendment proposes constitutionally guaranteed reserved seats for women and persons with disabilities in the National Assembly and State Houses of Assembly. Nigeria remains one of the most underrepresented countries globally regarding women in politics, currently below six per cent in legislative bodies.
Kalu described the bill as “a transformative step” toward correcting systemic exclusion, ensuring that governance reflects the perspectives of all citizens. The reserved seats proposal has faced stiff opposition in the past, but campaigners argue it is the only way to achieve meaningful gender balance.
Local government autonomy: The third major front is the push for full financial and administrative independence for local governments.
The amendment seeks to enhance the autonomy of local governments by providing a structured system of executive and legislative arms of the local governments, as well as an independent electoral body for conducting elections to local government offices, and full financial autonomy for local governments.
The 87 amendment bills are grouped into key reform themes that touch virtually every sector of Nigerian life:
Electoral Reforms: Proposals include conducting all general elections in a single day, making decamping a ground for impeachment, independent candidature, establishment of a local government elections commission, prevention of invalidation of elections on grounds of deficiencies in a deputy’s qualifications, appointment of the chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission by the National Judicial Council, and prevention of a dual position of party executive and elective office, among others.
Judicial Reforms: The proposed amendments include designating the Court of Appeal as the final appellate body for some election petitions, creating Local Government Election Tribunals, removing the Chief Justice of Nigeria and Chief Judges of the States from the Federal and State Judicial Service Commissions respectively, enabling concurrent jurisdiction between the Federal High Court and state High Courts in adjudicating electoral offences, increasing the number of Justices of the Federal High Court, Supreme Court and Court of Appeal, and empowering judges to conclude part-heard criminal cases after elevation to higher courts.
Devolution of Powers: The bills aim at transferring water management to state governments, transferring control of natural resources in a state to be shared jointly between the Federal and State Government, transferring mines and minerals to state governments, which will remit 25 per cent of such revenue to the Federal Government.
Strengthening Institutions: Proposals include mandating publication of Auditor-General’s reports, setting a compulsory 10-year cycle for a national census, enforcing budget presentation timelines, and removing transitional law-making powers from the Executive.
Traditional Institutions: This is a single bill seeking to formally recognise and assign advisory and governance roles to traditional rulers, particularly in security and community development.
Human Rights: Proposals include banning the public parading of crime suspects, domesticating international human rights treaties without further legislation, and replacing death sentences for pregnant women with life imprisonment.
Citizenship and Indigeneship: Bills propose granting citizenship to foreign spouses of Nigerian women (currently, only Nigerian men enjoy this provision), introducing “citizenship by investment,” and granting indigene status to those resident in a state for at least 10 years.
Group asks National Assembly to remove Sharia provisions from Constitution
A civil society organisation, One Nation One Law (ONOL), has told the National Assembly that the continued inclusion of Sharia law in the Nigerian Constitution is the primary enabler of torture in the country.
The group, while expressing support for a bill seeking to define torture in the Constitution, insisted that the legislation would be superficial if sections 275 to 279, which establish the Sharia legal system, were not dismantled.
The position paper, presented by Benson Sunday on behalf of ONOL at the House of Representatives public hearing on the review of the 1999 Constitution yesterday, noted what it described as a fundamental contradiction between the Constitution and the proposed torture bill.
He pointed out that while Section 34(1)(a) of the Constitution states that “No person shall be subjected to torture or to inhuman or degrading treatment,” the same document empowers Sharia courts in 12 northern states to administer punishments such as amputation, stoning to death, and public flogging.
He argued that these constitutional provisions provide legal cover for court-sanctioned torture.
According to him, the existence of Sharia law also emboldens mob violence, citing the burning of a woman in Niger State over alleged blasphemy in August 2025, the 2022 lynching of student Deborah Samuel in Sokoto, and the death sentence passed on Yahaya Sharif-Aminu in Kano in 2020.
“The Sharia provisions not only enable cruel punishments by courts but also fuel mob violence and torture to death by ordinary citizens who feel empowered by Sharia law,” the paper stated.
“We strongly believe that removing Sharia provisions from the Constitution will bring an end to such killings, mob actions, and tortures across Nigeria.”
Beyond physical violence, the group said the presence of Sharia in the supreme law of the land inflicts psychological torture on non-Muslims and dissenting Muslims.
This, according to Sunday, includes feelings of second-class citizenship, constant fear of persecution, and the erosion of national unity due to a dual legal system.
The organisation also highlighted what it called stark religious bias within the Constitution’s text, noting that the words “Sharia,” “Grand Kadi,” “Islam,” and “Muslims” appear a combined 165 times, while there is no single mention of Christianity, the Bible, or Churches.
ONOL described this as institutional bias and “an inhuman act of discrimination against other faiths in a multi-religious country,” adding that “this practical adoption of Islam as a state religion violates Section 10 of the Constitution, which prohibits such a designation.”
