With less than 30 days to a critical National Assembly vote, advocates of the Reserved Seats for Women Bill have warned that failure to pass the legislation by February could delay meaningful female representation in Nigerian politics until at least 2031, undermining efforts toward inclusive governance ahead of the 2027 general election.
The warning was issued in Abuja during a high-level briefing with editors and bureau chiefs of major media organisations, convened by TOS Foundation Africa as the proposed constitutional amendment enters its crucial third-reading stage in the National Assembly.
The session, held at NOLA, Abuja, brought together Editors-in-Chief, senior editors, and media executives. Organisers described the coming weeks as a “now-or-never” moment for the Bill, which seeks to address Nigeria’s persistent gender imbalance in legislative representation.
Chief Osasu Igbinedion-Ogwuche, convener of the campaign and CEO of TOS Group, highlighted Nigeria’s low ranking in women’s political participation despite women making up nearly half of the population.
“Women make up about 50 per cent of Nigeria’s population, yet they occupy just four per cent of seats in parliament,” she said. “Out of 360 members of the House of Representatives, only 16 are women. In the Senate, just four out of 109. Across the 36 State Houses of Assembly, only 51 out of 993 lawmakers are women, and in more than 16 states, there is not a single woman legislator.”
The Bill proposes the creation of 74 additional seats in the National Assembly and 108 reserved seats across the 36 State Houses of Assembly, to be contested exclusively by women through elections rather than appointments.
“This is not tokenism,” Igbinedion-Ogwuche said. “These are elective positions. Political parties will field candidates, women will compete among themselves, and the most competent will emerge. The aim is to open up a political space that has historically shut women out through violence, culture, religion, and structural barriers.”
She argued that effective lawmaking on issues such as maternal mortality, child nutrition, and women’s welfare requires the presence of women at decision-making levels. “You cannot legislate for people without them being present,” she said.
The briefing also sought to address misconceptions surrounding the Bill, which has faced resistance in previous assemblies. Earlier versions, including the Gender and Equal Opportunities Bill, failed in the 8th and 9th National Assemblies, largely on cultural and religious grounds.
According to Igbinedion-Ogwuche, those experiences informed a broader consultation process this time. She said the Bill has received endorsements from President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the First Lady, over 50 senators, the Senate President, the Speaker, and Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, as well as the Governors’ Spouses Forum.
“We were told before that we didn’t consult enough. This time, nobody can make that claim,” she said.
Advocacy Lead at TOS Group, Barrister Andikan, described the Bill as a “democratic correction” rather than a gender empowerment initiative, noting that some State Assemblies currently have no female representation.
“This is about fixing a structural democratic deficit,” she said, citing global evidence that quota systems help fast-track reforms and improve outcomes in health, education and collaborative governance.
She urged the media to frame the Bill as an issue of justice, governance and national development, rather than a contest between men and women.
During an interactive session, editors raised concerns about resistance from political parties, grassroots sensitisation, cultural factors, and the timing of a constitutional amendment close to elections. In response, Igbinedion-Ogwuche said extensive faith-based engagements had been undertaken, including endorsements from Islamic clerics and the Sultan of Sokoto, to counter religious objections.
She added that caucus meetings had been held across the six geopolitical zones and that constituency-level mobilisation was ongoing to ensure lawmakers are held accountable by their constituents.
“Lawmakers have the votes. Our job is to make sure their constituents are watching,” she said.
As part of the advocacy drive, TOS Foundation Africa has launched the “469Tracker,” a digital platform that tracks the public and private positions of all 469 federal lawmakers on the Bill to promote transparency and accountability.
Organisers stressed that failure to pass the Bill by February would make it impossible to operationalise it ahead of the 2027 elections, effectively sidelining women for another electoral cycle.
“That would mean keeping 50 per cent of Nigeria’s population on the sidelines for four more years,” Igbinedion-Ogwuche warned.
Participants agreed that while alternative options, including executive sponsorship, remain available, the Bill has made unprecedented progress through the legislature and must be pushed to completion.
The briefing concluded with a clear message: the next 30 days will determine whether Nigeria’s democracy expands to accommodate women more fully—or postpones that decision until the next decade.
