Inclusion of women: Senate seats could increase to 121, House of Representatives to 397 in 2027

Strong indications emerged on Friday that, through a constitutional amendment arising from the advocacy of women’s inclusion, the 109 seats of the Senate could increase to 121 and that of the House of Representatives from 360 to 397 at the 11th National Assembly in 2027.

The proposed increase in seats, 12 in the Senate and 37 in the House of Representatives, would be exclusive to women and guaranteed through constituencies in the six geopolitical zones and 36 States of the Federation anchored to the constituency system and not through general elections.

Support in this regard was intensified at the Zonal Caucus meeting held by the League of Women Voters of Nigeria (NILOWV) in collaboration with the sponsors of the bills on special seats for women in Parliament.

One of the supporters of the bill, Honorable Iduma Igariwey Enwo, said the leadership of both houses of the National Assembly are well disposed towards the proposed legislation, but further pressure needs to be exerted by all those who want the inclusion of women in governance to become a reality in Nigeria.

“I and a considerable number of honorary members of the House of Representatives have been ardent supporters and champions of the inclusion of women in the governance of Nigeria, which has led us to support over 100% of the special seats for women in the 11th National Assembly.

“The procedure and mechanism proposed in the bill for the emergence of women parliamentarians through special seats, will give women a chance to get appreciable representation in both the National Assembly and the States Houses of Assembly and from where they can now enter, through the (general election) doors,” he said.

She assured the women supporters that the leadership of both Houses of the National Assembly and many federal legislators in both the Senate and the House of Representatives are well disposed towards the bill and will vote for it, but it is still necessary to create a huge lobby among the members of the Houses of Assembly of the various states.

The proposed 12 additional seats in the Senate and 37 in the House of Representatives, all exclusive to women, in the 11th National Assembly in 2027, as indicated in the bill, will be contested, through constituencies anchored in the collegiate system.

The Executive Director of the African Parliamentary Resource Center (APRC), John Ebikeseye, in his presentation said the 12 additional seats in the Senate will be shared 2 each of the six geopolitical zones, while the proposed 37 additional seats in the House of Representatives will be shared one each by the 36 States and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT, Abuja).

“Those who will come out of the proposed special seats for women in the next Assembly at the federal and state levels, will not come through the general elections but through the constituencies.

“The constituency for a female senator emerging through the special seats proposal shall be composed of all elected local government councilors in the senatorial constituency, the executive chairmen and local government vice presidents elected in the senatorial constituency, while those for honorary members of the House of Representatives through the special seats proposal are the same categories of elected public officials and others from the affected federal constituencies,” he said.

The proposed structure, he added, will be tested for four electoral cycles which would cover 2027, 2031,

2035 and 2039, when the inclusion of women is expected, must have been fully implemented and integrated into governance.

Earlier in her welcome speech, NILOWV National President, Irene Ikyegh, said “advocacy is not about taking legislative seats away from men, but about providing seats to women for all-round inclusion in governance.”