The National Assembly is considering a constitutional amendment that would create 74 additional legislative seats for women in the Senate and House of Representatives to improve female representation in Nigeria’s political system.
The proposal also provides for three extra seats reserved for women in each of the 36 State Houses of Assembly, without affecting existing constituencies or displacing serving lawmakers.
Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele, disclosed this on Monday, November 2, at the 2026 Law Week organised by the International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA), Ekiti State Chapter.
Bamidele, who serves as Vice Chairman of the Senate Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution, said the proposed amendment was part of efforts to address the persistent exclusion of women from elective political positions.
He explained that the plan would allocate one additional Senate seat and one House of Representatives seat to every state and the Federal Capital Territory.
“A Bill for an Act to alter the provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 to provide for special seats for women in the National and State Houses of Assembly and for related matters is receiving our attention at the National Assembly,” Bamidele said.
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He added that the proposed special seats would remain in place for 16 years, covering four electoral cycles, after which the arrangement would undergo a comprehensive review.
The senator described the initiative as a temporary intervention to encourage a more inclusive political culture, adding that the committee was consulting State Houses of Assembly to secure the constitutional approval required for its implementation.
Bamidele said the proposal was not driven by partisan interests but by the need to ensure women had a stronger voice in decisions affecting the country.
He argued that a democracy that excludes more than half its population from decision-making cannot be considered fully representative.
The Senate Leader also acknowledged the advocacy of First Lady Oluremi Tinubu in promoting women’s participation in governance.
He called for stronger legal protections for women and children, insisting that victims of abuse must have access to legal assistance, medical care and psychosocial support, while perpetrators face justice under the law.