Bill To Reserve One Senatorial Seat In Every State For Women Set For Second Reading By Norbert Fidelis

A bill to make it compulsory for every state to reserve one seat for a female senator will soon come up for a second reading in the House Of Reps.

Chairman house committee on women in parliament Hon. Taiwo Oluga said this while receiving the Legal Defense And Assistance Project （LEDAP）a coalition partner to advance gender equality （SAGE）in Abuja.

She said that the bill is an initiative of the committee and part of the effort being made to increase women representation in government.

What we are proposing in the bill is to have at least a senator from every state, It can be two out of the three.

She however said that the idea is not just to come and occupy positions, but to complement the men’s effort stating that it’s not a competition.

We know we have women who are intelligent, and capable in this country. We are just 12 in this house but our contributions on the floor cannot be swept under the carpet.

The Hon. member commended the effort of female lawmakers in national issues such as security, health and reducing the number of children out of school.

Earlier on, Mrs. Pamela Okorigwe , the senior programmes manager said there was need to srategize on how to increase women representation in government, and advised that the constitution should be amended to change the language to reflect all gender.

She said that “He” as used in the constitution should be removed, and chairman should be replaced with chairperson.

She further stated that the constitution should be amended to ensure 35 percent affirmative action for women is reflected in political parties, and urged that INEC should be empowered by constitution to deregister political parties that fail to conform.

Mrs. Okorigwe also said that the constitution should be amended to make it mandatory for the offices of chairman and secretary of political parties to be be occupied by a man, and a woman at all times.

Meanwhile, the programmes manager, Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Center（CISLAC）Mr. Okeke Anya said that SAGE is a USAID supported.

programme stating that the aim is to drive a campaign to increase the number of women in governance across all tiers government.