National Assembly Considers 74 Additional Seats for Women, Says Senate Leader Bamidele

Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele has said the National Assembly is considering a constitutional amendment to create 74 additional legislative seats reserved exclusively for women.

Under the proposal, 37 seats would be created in the Senate and 37 in the House of Representatives, giving each state and the Federal Capital Territory one additional women-only seat in each chamber. Bamidele said the constitution review committee had also proposed three additional seats for women in each state House of Assembly. He stressed that the reserved positions would be added to existing seats and would not replace them.

He spoke on Monday, November 2, at the 2026 Law Week organised by the Ekiti State chapter of the International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA). The event, chaired by Ayobami Olowoyo-Richards, was themed "Justice in a Changing World: Responding to New Challenges Affecting Women and Children." Bamidele, who is vice-chairman of the Senate Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution, said the measure is meant to expand women's participation in politics and governance.

"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," he said.

He explained that the arrangement would run for 16 years, covering 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 added that the National Assembly is engaging state legislatures to secure the approval needed for the amendment to take effect. He described the proposal as a national reform rather than a partisan initiative, arguing that excluding women from decision-making weakens representative democracy. "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 said. He noted that advocacy by prominent figures, including First Lady Oluremi Tinubu, has strengthened the 10th National Assembly's commitment to the initiative.

The Senate leader also said lawmakers are considering measures to support women, children and persons with disabilities through better access to healthcare, education and social protection programmes. The reserved-seat proposal remains under consideration as part of the ongoing review of the 1999 Constitution.