Reserved Seats for Women: APC Nat'l Women Leader Makes Key Demand, Sends Message to Tinubu, Others
- APC national women leader, Dr. Mary Idele Alile, has fully backed the call for the reservation of seats for women in the National Assembly
- Dr Alile, who called for a constitutional amendment, said the move is both a moral and political necessity
- The APC chieftain warned that without legal backing, Nigeria will continue to lose out on women’s ideas, leadership, and inclusive governance, citing Rwanda, Senegal, and South Africa as examples of progress in gender inclusion
Abuja, FCT - Dr Mary Idele Alile, the national women leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), has called for a constitutional amendment to reserve seats for women in the National Assembly.
Dr Alile, in a statement on Sunday, August 10, described the move as a moral and political imperative to end decades of structural exclusion from decision-making.
Source: UGC
Why Nigeria should reserve seats for women
According to Dr Alile, Nigeria will continue to miss out on their voices, ideas and leadership in shaping laws for more than 200 million people without a legal guarantee of women’s representation.
She emphasised that balanced representation is key in every democracy.
“In the heart of every democracy lies a simple truth: representation is the lifeblood of justice. Yet, in Nigeria’s National Assembly, the presence of women is so scarce that their voices often echo like whispers in a crowded hall,” the APC women leader said.
Reserved seats: What Nigeria should learn from Africa
Alile raised an alarm that Nigeria was falling behind other African nations in gender inclusion, making reference to developments in Rwanda, Senegal and South Africa. Rwanda, according to her, has more than 60% female representation in parliament, while Senegal and South Africa reportedly have implemented legal measures to ensure greater gender balance.
“Reserved seats are not a gift to women, they are an obligation of a fair society,” she said.
The APC chieftain added that political godfatherism, high campaign costs, stereotypes and a hostile political climate continue to shut women out in Nigeria.
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What Nigeria stands to gain by reserving seats for women
According to the APC women leader, research showed that countries with more women in parliament scored higher on education, healthcare, environmental protection and anti-corruption indices. She argued that debates in such parliaments were more inclusive and governance more humane.
Her words:
“We lose more than elections when women are kept out. We lose ideas that could save lives, compassion in policy-making, and balance in governance.”
Tinubu, NASS, others asked to initiate reforms
Alile called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the National Assembly, political parties, and civil society organisations to act fast, just as she warned against further delays.
“Every year we postpone this reform, we are telling millions of Nigerian girls that their dreams must wait. Justice delayed is justice denied,” she said.
Alile framed the proposal for reserving seats for women as a test of Nigeria’s moral courage.
“The question before Nigeria is not whether women deserve a seat in parliament; history has answered that. The real question is whether we have the moral courage to give them that seat now, before another generation passes in the shadow of exclusion," she concluded.
Source: UGC
Nigerian women still chasing 35% affirmative action
Legit.ng had earlier reported that the last off-cycle polls in Bayelsa, Kogi and Imo states missed an opportunity to produce women with leadership roles.
This pattern echoes the discouraging trends observed in the previous general election and the composition of President Tinubu's cabinet.
The Nigeria Women Trust Fund (NWTF) urged the government to actively prioritise and embrace the inclusion of women in key decision-making positions.
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Source: Legit.ng
