Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele disclosed on Monday that the National Assembly Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) has recommended creating 74 additional legislative seats for women across the Senate and House of Representatives.
Bamidele, who doubles as Vice Chairman of the Senate Constitution Review Committee, revealed that the NASS panel also proposed allocating three reserved seats for women in each State House of Assembly without replacing existing electoral constituencies.
Speaking at the 2026 Law Week organized by the Ekiti State Chapter of the International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA), he stated that the recommendations aim to enhance women’s participation in national politics and governance.
He further explained that the primary objective of the legislative initiative is to establish dedicated seats for women in both the National Assembly and State Houses of Assembly through the ongoing constitutional review process.
He added that the legislative proposal represents the culmination of extensive engagement and consensus-building efforts.
Additionally, Bamidele revealed that the constitution review committee “has already proposed three additional seats for each state House of Assembly, all specifically reserved for women, without displacing any existing electoral seats.
“This arrangement is proposed to run for a period of 16 years, four electoral cycles, before a comprehensive review. This is a sunset clause designed to ensure sustainability and to allow for the organic development of a more inclusive political culture,” the senator said.
Backstory…
Nigeria’s proposal to create 74 additional legislative seats for women comes amid years of concerns over the country’s poor record of female representation in politics.
Despite women making up nearly half of Nigeria’s population, their presence in elected political offices has remained significantly low.
In the 10th National Assembly, only four of the 109 senators and 16 of the 360 members of the House of Representatives are women. Several state Houses of Assembly also have no female legislators.
