Ahead of the 2027 poll, the former ActionAid Nigeria Country Director, Ene Obi, insists that it will be fair and equitable to reserve no fewer than 74 seats for women in the National Assembly.
Obi’s position was reinforced by the Executive Director of the Africa Center for Leadership, Strategy and Development, Dr. Otive Igbuzor, who described Nigeria as one of the worst countries in the world in terms of women empowerment and inclusiveness in leadership positions.
The duo spoke yesterday in Abuja during the launch of the Inclusive Pathway Development Initiative (IPADEV), aimed at promoting equal opportunities, social justice, and community empowerment through inclusive policies, capacity building, and advocacy for societal transformation.
Obi, who called on the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr. Benjamin Kalu, to see through the passage of the bill, maintained that women deserve thirty-seven seats, particularly in the Senate.
The rights activist remarked that it is unfortunate that women cannot boast of occupying a single seat in 14 state assemblies in the country, worsened by the fact that there are Committees on Women Affairs that are being chaired and manned by the male gender.
Lamenting the development, she argued that there is no way women would get a fair deal in the country if the ugly trend persists.
She said, “Nigeria is a place where we have one of the worst indices in terms of maternal mortality. Any woman who is pregnant, no matter your age or your status, you are on a mortality death row. He who wears the shoes knows where it pinches. It’s important to have women and men. There is no competition.
“We are asking for—me as a mother in Nigeria and in Africa—I want my boys and girls to be on the table. That’s where they can make meaning out of life. The result of every decision depends on who is in the boardroom. Those who are not there, the decisions don’t represent them.”
Obi pledged to support IPADEV, founded by Dr. Margaret Fagboyo, who celebrated her 50th birthday anniversary at the event graced by National Assembly members, members of the Ekiti State Executive Council, and the First Lady of Ondo State, Mrs. Oluwaseun Aiyedatiwa, as well as the former First Lady of the state, Bisi Adeleye-Fayemi, among others.
“For her to be 50 and having gone through such a wonderful career and rededicating herself to the service of humanity, this is the time to come, because we have more than half of Nigerians living below the poverty line,” she noted.
“The women need help, children need help—everywhere you are looking, there is need for help. So her coming on board at this time is quite special, and we welcome her into the fold, because in civil society there is a lot of burden due to the kind of rot we have in society now. You know what we are facing right now: people are living in an existential environment; people are trying to exist—not just survive—just refugees.”
Igbuzor, who described Fagboyo as well-equipped to initiate programmes with IPADEV to change the plight of women and push the frontiers of gender equality and women empowerment in the polity.
Fagboyo, who expressed gratitude to God, called on the National Assembly to take a cue from other countries by endorsing the bill on reservation of seats for women at both the state and national levels.
“If you look at countries that are doing well, you will look at how they are treating their women. So in Nigeria, we should prioritise women’s inclusion in governance, because issues that concern us cannot be decided when we are not at the table. So I want to use this opportunity to plead to the National Assembly and to Nigerians as a whole, that this bill is a bill that should be passed,” she stressed.
