Failure to pass the Special Seats Bill in ongoing constitutional amendments would mark “the biggest failure of any conversation around constitutional amendment in this country,” Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre (PLAC) Executive Director Clement Nwankwo declared Monday at a strategy meeting on advancing women’s political leadership ahead of the 2027 elections. Convened by PLAC, Nigerian Bar Association – Section on Public Interest and Development Law (NBA-SPIDEL), and Nigerian Women Trust Fund (NWTF), with European Union backing at Abuja Continental Hotel, the gathering spotlighted Nigeria’s “embarrassing” women’s underrepresentation and demanded urgent legislative and party action.
Nwankwo laid bare the crisis with stark stats: “In a situation where you have only four senators out of the 109. At some stage, one of those four senators was suspended, so you had three. And the House of Representatives have… 15 or 16 women out of 360. And in state house assembly, you have just about 50-60 women from across the country. Indeed, it’s quite embarrassing that 15 states do not have a single woman.”
Dismissing domestic confinement arguments, he added, “Women and men have special places carved out for them and if homes are balanced, everybody in the home will do their job. So consigning women to just the role in the home is something that anybody who proposes… should really ask themselves the question whether in all of their thoughts if they are balancing it as well.”
He zeroed in on the bill as make-or-break: “I think it will be the biggest failure of any conversation around constitutional amendment in this country if the bill does not pass… If the special seats bill does not pass, there is nothing else that passes in the constitutional amendment that anybody will regard as a success.”
As a consultant to the National Assembly, Nwankwo pressed leaders: “I’ve said this to returning presiding officers and chairmen of the committees, that if the special seats bill does not pass, there is nothing else… We cannot afford in the 11th National Assembly… the abysmal position we have in the 10th assembly.”
On parties, he warned: “The parties also provide the environment that enables more women to emerge in legislative and executive elections. With unity list, the men who are drawing on that unity list need to be very, very conscious… there has to be a balance… The idea would be 50-50, which means… 180 women and 180 men” in the House.
NBA-SPIDEL Chair, Uju Agomoh, amplified the stakes: “The success of the Special Seats Bill and indeed the broader goal of inclusive representation will not be achieved by just one stakeholder.
She decried tokenism: “we celebrate a few tokenisms extended to women who have been appointed… When we have such conversations, it must be about trusting women with political leadership. It’s an issue of sticky floors and the broken ladders that have kept women down.”
NBA President Afam Osigwe, tied it to his field: “Women are underwhelmingly underrepresented in political leadership… It’s also a shame that at the Nigerian Bar Association, no woman has ever been elected president. And we are waiting to see how lawyers are going to vote in this year’s election, where for the first time, a woman is strongly running… We should not just talk about inclusiveness, but take positive steps to ensure that it works. Women are heading three sections, many more women are heading our branches… And so I’m glad we’re having this conversation to ensure women take a pride of place… Not because they are women… but because we think it is the right thing.”
Edo State First Lady, Mrs. Edesili Anani Okpebholo rallied gatekeepers: “No woman, no nation. You neglect a woman, you lose the election… Women must pass that era of doing “shaki-shaki” and dancing, if we are not called to sit on the table, we must draw a seat and sit on the table. We’re now dealing with the gatekeepers, the dominance of men… Today I’m excited that we have the men here, the gatekeepers… The proposed Special Seats Bill represents a significant and timely opportunity. We need intentional commitments from political parties, when women are fully represented development becomes more sustainable.”
Plateau State Commissioner Caroline Panglang Dafur, who spoke for the Commissioners’ Forum, urged expedition: “Women’s participation in governance is not a mere privilege, but a fundamental right Women’s representation remains critically low. The proposed Special Seats Bill presents a significant opportunity, we urge lawmakers to expedite its passage. To our women aspirants, this is a call to action, we must shatter glass ceilings. To our political parties, we reiterate the importance of inclusive nomination equitable access to leadership roles for women.”
NCWS President Edna Asura affirmed resolve: “We are all about the empowerment of Nigerian women, educating Nigerian women, bringing Nigerian women to the national discourse and that cannot be done without being included in political things and that is why we felt it’s good to come with a special seat bill issue.”
EU’s Laolu Olawumi challenged votes: “To the lawmakers in the room… how will you vote? And more importantly, what drives this decision?… The enemy is patriarchy and the attendant systems… Discussions often centre on what the women are doing wrong, never about the system that has been carefully designed to suppress women’s voices… We must not give up.”
NWTF CEO Brenda Anugwom stressed pragmatism: “Our presence in decision-making spaces remains too far limited… Not for lack of ambition. It’s not for lack of competence… It is the result of structural barriers… Let’s focus on getting the bill passed now… ahead of 2031… It will require political will, strategic coordination… sustained… advocacy and collective accountability… What is at stake… is the credibility… and the future of our democracy.”
Strategic Push from Women Legislators
Hon. Kafilat Ogbara, Chair of the House Committee on Women Affairs, detailed bill progress and retention strategies in two focused segments. She first hailed leadership support: “The National Assembly leadership, led by Rt Hon Tajudeen Abass and Rt Hon Benjamin Kalu, are fully in support of the bill. And even Mr. President… and the mother of the nation, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, are continuing to mention the inclusion of women… The political will is there. There’s no ambiguity about that… We are very confident that by the grace of God, we will get it done this time around.”
Ogbara urged first ladies and women leaders: “Your Excellency the First Lady, your members, you all have a critical role to play… Just pick one woman and insist, send the name to your husband. You are giving this woman the ticket… You don’t have to show it. That’s the way you play that game.”
She then outlined next steps: “We must continue to speak up, non-stop… It’s time for women to be on the seat. As local government chairmen, as councillors, as assembly members… Nigeria is ripe [for a female governor]… The best way… is retention. Existing women must be retained by their political parties… We must identify the gatekeepers… build bridges. This is not a fight for women alone… This bill is not just about adding seats. It’s about opening doors… If we stay committed… we’ll get there.”
Jonathan Gaza Gbefwi, Member representing Keffi/Karu/Kokona Federal Constituency, addressed mapping support, resistance, and undecided blocs while outlining strategies for momentum. On influencers: “We have to map out the support blocs, the resistance blocs, and the undecided… Within the National Assembly, key influencers include the presiding officers, committee chairs like Hon. Kafilat Ogbara, zonal caucuses, and party whips who control voting lines. Strategies involve targeted town halls with undecided members, sharing data on women’s contributions to peace and development, and leveraging presidential endorsements to sway skeptics.”
He stressed on sustaining drive: “To keep momentum, we need weekly advocacy check-ins, cross-party women legislator alliances, and public campaigns tying the bill to national progress. Resistance often stems from misconceptions about ‘special seats’ as handouts—counter this with evidence from Rwanda’s model, where quotas boosted stability. Undecideds respond to peer pressure; I’ve committed to rallying my zone for a ‘yes’ vote by Q3 2026.”
Kwara State First Lady and Nigeria Governors Spouses’ Forum Chairperson, Olufolake AbdulRazaq, contextualized Nigeria’s crisis globally in her opening remarks. “Globally women remain underrepresented in policy decision making. As at January 1st 2026, women occupied just 27.5% of all parliamentary seats worldwide… Only 28 countries have women serving as heads of state… In Nigeria, the situation is even more acute… In the senate only about 3.7% are women… These numbers are not just statistics… When women are absent from lawmaking tables, governance structures leave half of humanity… without a voice.”
She called for action: “First it is urgent that we translate inclusion into representation… This requires robust legal framework, affirmative policies, political Will… Second, we must expand quotas and gender responsive electoral systems… Third, we must create safe enabling spaces for women… free from intimidation… And importantly, we must support initiatives like the special seats for women bill. For us at the Nigeria Governors Spouses Forum, we remain committed. As we leave this event, let’s commit to using our voices to build a future where every woman and girl has the opportunity to reach her full potential.”
