The National Assembly is considering a proposal to create 74 additional legislative seats exclusively for women in the Senate and House of Representatives as part of ongoing efforts to address women’s underrepresentation in Nigeria’s political leadership.

The proposal, which forms part of the ongoing review of the 1999 Constitution, also seeks to create three additional seats reserved for women in each of the 36 State Houses of Assembly.

Senate Leader and Vice Chairman of the Senate Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, disclosed this on Monday at the 2026 Law Week organised by the International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA), Ekiti State Chapter.

He explained that the proposed 74 additional seats would comprise 37 seats in the Senate and another 37 in the House of Representatives, giving each of the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory one additional representative in each chamber.

According to him, the proposed seats would be exclusively reserved for women without displacing existing elected representatives.

Bamidele said the initiative was designed to deepen women’s participation in political leadership and decision-making, adding that the proposed constitutional amendment had received considerable attention as part of the National Assembly’s ongoing review exercise.

He said, “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.”

Explaining the structure of the proposed arrangement, the Senate Leader said the Constitution Review Committee had also proposed three additional seats for women in each State House of Assembly.

He disclosed that the arrangement was designed to operate for 16 years, covering four electoral cycles, after which a comprehensive review would be conducted to assess its effectiveness and sustainability.

“This arrangement is proposed to run for a period of 16 years, four electoral cycles, before a comprehensive review. This is a sunset clause designed to ensure sustainability and to allow for the organic development of a more inclusive political culture,” he said.

Bamidele said the National Assembly had commenced engagements with State Houses of Assembly to secure the required concurrence for the proposed constitutional alteration, noting that their approval was essential to bringing the reform into effect.

He described the initiative as a national democratic reform rather than a partisan political arrangement, arguing that women’s exclusion from decision-making undermines the principle of representative democracy.

“The special seat initiative is not a partisan endeavour. It is a historic imperative,” he said.

According to him, the proposal is anchored on the need to ensure that women, who constitute a significant proportion of Nigeria’s population, have greater opportunities to participate in decisions affecting their lives and the country’s development.

“A democracy that systematically excludes over half of its population from the decision-making tables that determine their futures is, at best, a flawed democracy and, at worst, a veiled oligarchy,” he added.

The Senate Leader further acknowledged the contributions of stakeholders and advocates, including First Lady Oluremi Tinubu, whose advocacy for women’s political inclusion has supported calls for reforms to improve female representation in elective positions.

He said the 10th National Assembly recognised the need for deliberate legislative interventions to address structural barriers limiting women’s participation in governance.

Beyond political representation, Bamidele highlighted the importance of strengthening legal and institutional mechanisms to protect women, children and other vulnerable groups.

He said legislative interventions should support access to healthcare, education and social protection, particularly for women, children and persons with disabilities.

On gender-based violence, the lawmaker called for a justice system that provides survivors with accessible, affordable and timely assistance.

He maintained that women experiencing domestic violence should be able to seek protection without intimidation or social condemnation, while children subjected to abuse must receive appropriate protection and support.

“A woman who suffers domestic violence must be able to seek protection without intimidation or social condemnation. A child who experiences abuse must be heard, protected from further harm, and provided with appropriate support,” he said.

He added that survivors should have access to legal assistance, medical care and psychosocial services, while perpetrators must be held accountable in accordance with due process and the rule of law.

The 2026 FIDA Law Week, chaired by the Ekiti State chapter’s Chairperson, Mrs Ayobami Olowoyo-Richards, was held under the theme, ‘Justice in a Changing World: Responding to New Challenges Affecting Women and Children’.

The event was attended by the Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Information and National Orientation, Steve Fatoba, and Speaker of the Ekiti State House of Assembly, Adeoye Aribasoye, among other stakeholders.

The proposed special seats arrangement comes amid longstanding concerns over women’s low representation in Nigeria’s political institutions, despite their participation in elections, political mobilisation and community development.

Women remain significantly underrepresented in the National Assembly, with the outcome of the 2023 general elections leaving only four women in the 109-member Senate and 16 in the 360-member House of Representatives.

Gender advocates have consistently argued that high nomination fees, political violence, discriminatory party structures, limited access to campaign financing and exclusion from party leadership structures continue to undermine women’s chances of securing elective positions.

The proposed additional seats are therefore expected to provide a constitutional mechanism for improving women’s access to legislative institutions without reducing the number of seats available to other elected representatives.

However, the proposal is still undergoing legislative and constitutional review and will require the necessary approval of the National Assembly and State Houses of Assembly before it can become law.

If adopted, the 16-year arrangement would provide an opportunity to assess whether reserved legislative seats can improve women’s political representation, strengthen gender-responsive policymaking and encourage more inclusive democratic governance in Nigeria.

As preparations gradually gather momentum ahead of the 2027 general elections, the proposal has renewed attention on the need to translate years of advocacy for women’s political inclusion into concrete legislative reforms and greater participation in national decision-making.