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From Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja
Governors of the 36 State under the auspices of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), in a late-night session that ended in the early hours of Friday, October 24, 2025, underscored the critical importance of the Reserved Seats for Women Bill (HB 1349), urging all stakeholders to rally behind the legislative effort aimed at enhancing gender representation in the country’s political landscape.
The communique issued at the conclusion of the 5th Meeting of the NGF held on Thursday, October 23, was signed by the Forum’s Chairman and Governor of Kwara State, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, and read by Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwoolu surrounded by his colleagues.
The bill, scheduled for voting between November 4 and 6, 2025, seeks to amend the 1999 Constitution. The bill proposes the creation of special constituencies exclusively contested by women in both the National and State Assemblies as a temporary measure to bolster women’s participation in governance.
They emphasised the significance of the bill in promoting equity and inclusion in governance, urging fellow governors to actively engage legislators at all levels to ensure the bill’s passage.
The bill is a landmark initiative not only to correct the longstanding underrepresentation of women in legislative houses at the Subnational level but also to affirm Nigeria’s commitment to gender equity and inclusive governance.
“Governors were urged to engage their
Senators, Members of the House of Representatives, and State Assemblies to support the Bill’s passage and affirm Nigeria’s commitment to equity and inclusive governance”, the communique read.
The Reserved Seats Bill plans to create additional seats that women would exclusively contest, without affecting the existing constituencies. This initiative is meant to be a temporary but impactful intervention to address the gender gap that currently sees women occupying less than 5% of legislative seats nationwide.
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The Governors’ Forum meeting also featured presentations on economic stabilization by the Central Bank of Nigeria and security updates from the Department of State Services.
On economic stabilisation, the Forum received presentation of the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, who was represented by the Deputy Governor (Economic Policy) Muhammad Abdullahi, who provided insights into ongoing efforts to restore price stability and bolster economic confidence through tightened monetary policies, unified exchange rate windows, and bank recapitalization.
The governors praised the CBN’s coordinated approach with fiscal authorities, acknowledging the importance of sustained collaboration to safeguard economic growth and fiscal sustainability.
The Forum also received a detailed security update from the Director-General of the Department of State Services (DSS), Adeola Ajayi on emerging security threats and intelligence-led strategies
to strengthen subnational coordination
highlighting emerging threats and intelligence strategies to bolster coordination at subnational levels.
Issues addressed included counterterrorism efforts, managing inter-communal conflicts, and tackling security risks associated with economic difficulties and political transitions. The governors expressed appreciation for the DSS’s proactive engagement and reaffirmed their commitment to deepen intelligence sharing and federal collaboration for peace and stability.
The communique reiterated the Forum’s dedication to tackling Nigeria’s challenges holistically, combining social inclusion through the Reserved Seats Bill with robust economic and security strategies.
The governors expressed optimism that these concerted efforts would mark significant progress in Nigerian governance, economy, and security.
