By TheDailyNewsHub Reporter
The National Assembly is considering a proposal to create 74 additional legislative seats exclusively for women as part of efforts to increase female representation in Nigeria’s political system.
Senate Leader, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, disclosed this on Monday, November 2, 2026, during the 2026 Law Week organised by the International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA), Ekiti State Chapter.
Bamidele, who is also Vice Chairman of the Senate Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution, said the proposal would provide 37 additional seats in the Senate and another 37 in the House of Representatives.
Under the proposed arrangement, each of Nigeria’s 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory would have one additional seat reserved for women in each chamber. The seats would be created without displacing existing elected representatives.
The committee has also proposed three additional seats exclusively for women in each State House of Assembly.
According to Bamidele, the special-seat arrangement is expected to operate for 16 years, covering four electoral cycles, before a comprehensive review to assess its impact on women’s political participation.
He described the initiative as the outcome of extensive consultations and consensus-building, stressing that the constitutional amendment process was being handled deliberately to ensure broad participation and support.
The Senate leader said the National Assembly was engaging State Houses of Assembly to secure the required approval, expressing confidence that the proposal would obtain the support of at least two-thirds of the state legislatures.
He maintained that the initiative was not a partisan political project but a necessary intervention to address the persistent under-representation of women in decision-making.
“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,” Bamidele said.
He also acknowledged the advocacy of prominent government figures, including First Lady Senator Oluremi Tinubu, in advancing women’s participation in governance.
If approved through the constitutional amendment process, the proposal would introduce additional reserved legislative representation for women at both federal and state levels, marking a significant change in Nigeria’s political representation framework.
However, the proposal has not yet become law and must pass the constitutionally required legislative approval process.