A staggering 15 states in Nigeria, including Abia, Rivers, Zamfara, and Kano, failed to elect female representatives in their state assemblies in the 2023 general election.
A social inclusion and governance expert, Olumide Olaniyan, stated this on Monday in Abuja at the Technical Session on the Seat Reservation for Women Bill and the Public Presentation of the National Women Leaders Forum’s Operational Guidelines.
This comes as Nigerian women are set to storm the National Assembly to demand explanation from the Senate President, Senator Godswill Akpabio on the alleged recent ‘harassment’ of the senator representing Kogi Central, Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan.
The event was organised by the Westminster Foundation for Democracy (WFD) in collaboration with the National Women Leaders Forum (NWLF) of Political Parties in Nigeria.
The Guardian reports that the 15 states represent 42 of the states of the federation.
Olaniyan who said this cuts across the six geopolitical zones of the country, listed the other states to include Osun, Imo, Yobe, Bauchi, Niger, Borno, and Gombe. Others are Jigawa, Kebbi, Katsina, and Sokoto.
He lamented that despite women being 49 per cent of the country’s population, Nigeria ranks 180th out of 192 countries for women’s parliamentary representation.
In her remarks, the former ActionAid Nigeria Country Director, Ene Obi, condemned the alleged ‘harassment’ of Senator Natasha Akpoti, describing it as unacceptable treatment.
She warned that women will soon march to the National Assembly, to demand answers from the Senate President regarding the senator’s mistreatment.
Last week, Senate session erupted into chaos when Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan, Chairman of the Senate Committee on the Diaspora and Nongovernmental Organisations, vehemently protested the ‘unauthorized’ relocation of her seat within the chamber.
Her objections put her at odds with Senate President Godswill Akpabio, who declined to acknowledge her concerns because she refused to address the chamber from her newly assigned seat.
In his remarks, Deputy Speaker, House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu, appealed for calm, even as he called for ‘diplomatic channel’ to resolve the issue.