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By Onwa Ekor
Participants at the just concluded media roundtable on sustaining momentum around the special seats bill for women, have argued that when passed by the National Assembly, it would represent fairness, balance and adequate representation.
The one-day event organised by Gender and Development Action (GADA) with support from UNWomen, saw participants reasoning that the bill also advocates a major opportunity to advance women’s political representation in Nigeria.
Offering insights on the objectives of the event held in Calabar, GADA Media consultant, Vanessa Richard Bassey, informed that the learning exchange activity would provide journalists with updated, factual information on the special seats bill for women as well as equip them with story angles, data and expert insights to support continuous reporting.
According to Richard-Bassey, the event would foster collaboration between media professionals and gender advocates for improved visibility and public engagement while encouraging sustained public pressure and awareness through consistent media coverage.
For GADA Program officer, Nnenna Ugbor,
the idea around the special seats bill is to increase the number of women representation in governance, as women in Nigeria have less than five percent representation in leadership or governance at the states and national assembly.
Ugbor said, “we propose one seat from each state in the Senate and House of Representatives, while for the State House of Assembly, every state should have at least one from each of its senatorial district, as only these would beef up the number of women representation.”
She maintained that as lawmakers meet for the legislative roles on the said bill, there was need to offer it the right publicity, push, control and eventually get convinced to ensure it is passed into law.
A resource person and Gender based activist, Dr. MacFarlane Ejah, reasoned that there was need to advocate for special seats for women since the 35 percent affirmative action is not working in the nation.
Ejah noted that, as signatories to the Beijing conference as well as other conventions which earlier highlighted the percentage for women representation in leadership and governance, there was need to obey same agreement through the passage of the special seats bill.
He rhetorically asked: “If women are strong enough to take care of homes and humans as mothers, why don’t we recognise their potential and bring them onboard to help out on issues that boarder on governance?”
Explaining concerns surrounding myths and fact, Ejah remarked that many believe that the passage of the bill would balloon the cost of governance, even as it remains undemocratic to reserve seats.
These, the resource person clarified that, the budget analysis shows the increase is less than two percent of the National Assembly’s budget as the societal Return on Investment (ROI) outweighs the cost.
He added that it is a constitutional equity as Section 42 of the 1999 Constitution allows for special measures to aid disadvantaged groups.
Ejah further informed that the special seats bill would address the chronic under-representation of women in politics.
The day’s event featured plenary discussion where journalists shared experiences, gaps and challenges in reporting Women’s political representation, group work and follow-up mechanisms.
