From Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja
The Speaker of the House of Representatives has implored the Nigeria Governors’ Forum to support proposed legislation seeking to create special legislative seats for women and a constitutional role for traditional rulers.
The Speaker, Tajudeen Abbas, who made the appeal while speaking at a joint session of the National Assembly, which was addressed by President Bola Tinubu, on Thursday, to mark the 2025 Democracy Day celebration, also sought the support of the governors for a 35% gender affirmative-action policy.
The House is championing the creation of special seats for women in the two chambers of the National Assembly and state Houses of Assembly, as well as a defined role for traditional rulers in the Constitution.
Abbas, who reiterated the commitment of the House to finalise work on the review of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) by December 2025, said the 10th House has passed a total of 186 bills since its inception in 2023.
According to him, “Since June 2023, under President Tinubu’s stewardship and the 10th National Assembly, we launched an eight-point Legislative Agenda fully aligned with the Renewed Hope Agenda. Within two years, we have reviewed 2,263 bills. Of these, 65.3% have passed Second Reading, while 186 have been successfully passed.
“A total of 51 bills have received presidential assent, marking an unprecedented milestone for any President in his first two years. Congratulations on that feat, Mr. President.”
The Speaker added that “while we celebrate our successes, we remain acutely aware that it is not yet Uhuru. As we enter the second half of our term, our determination is unequivocal: to expedite and finalise the constitutional amendment process by December 2025.
“Some of our priorities include special reserved seats for women, formal constitutional roles for traditional rulers, and legal backing for a 35% affirmative-action gender policy.
“We appeal to the Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum and the Progressive Governors’ Forum to advocate for these essential reforms at the state level.”