Constitution Review: N’Assembly Considering 74 Additional Seats for Women — Bamidele

The National Assembly is considering a proposal to create 74 additional legislative seats for women as part of the ongoing review of the 1999 Constitution, Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele has disclosed.

The proposal seeks to create 37 additional seats in the Senate and another 37 in the House of Representatives, ensuring that each state of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory has one reserved seat for women in both chambers.

Bamidele, who is also Vice Chairman of the Senate Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution, disclosed this on Monday at the 2026 Law Week organised by the International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA), Ekiti State Chapter.

He said the committee had also proposed three additional seats for women in each of the 36 State Houses of Assembly, without displacing existing elected representatives.

According to him, the proposed arrangement is designed to address the underrepresentation of women in Nigeria’s political and governance structures.

Bamidele explained that the special-seat arrangement would operate for 16 years, covering four electoral cycles, before a comprehensive review to assess its effectiveness and impact.

He described the proposal as the outcome of consultations and consensus-building, stressing that the National Assembly had commenced the constitutional review process early to ensure that the reforms were thoroughly considered.

“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.

The Senate Leader maintained that the proposal was not a partisan initiative but an effort to strengthen representative democracy by giving women greater access to legislative decision-making.

He also acknowledged the advocacy of the First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, and other stakeholders in pushing for increased women’s participation in governance.

Bamidele said the committee was engaging State Houses of Assembly because their approval was constitutionally required for the proposed amendment to become law.

Under Section 9 of the 1999 Constitution, a constitutional alteration must secure the support of at least two-thirds of the 36 State Houses of Assembly before it can proceed to presidential assent.

The proposal is therefore still subject to the constitutional amendment process and has not yet become law.

If approved, the measure would introduce additional seats reserved exclusively for women while preserving the existing legislative constituencies and seats.