Yiaga Africa, a civil society organization, has called for immediate national measures to tackle the issue of low female participation in Nigerian parliaments.
Samson Itodo, the Executive Director of Yiaga Africa, emphasized the urgent need for action in an interview with journalists in Abuja.
Current statistics reveal a significant gender disparity in the 10th Assembly, with only four women occupying four out of the 109 seats in the Senate and 17 out of the 360 seats in the House of Representatives.
Additionally, 15 states, including Abia, Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, Imo, Jigawa, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Niger, Osun, Rivers, Sokoto, Yobe, and Zamfara, have no female members in their state houses.
Itodo highlighted that the persistence of this trend is due to political parties believing that voters won’t penalize them for not fielding female candidates.
He stressed the importance of voters acting by punishing parties not prioritising female representation.
The executive director suggested that legislation creating special seats for women in the National Assembly could be a solution to address the underrepresentation of women.
He noted that if the 9th National Assembly had passed the Gender Bills, there would have been designated female seats, thereby boosting women’s participation.
Itodo argued that such legislative measures would be temporary and innovative, aiming to increase the quality and level of female participation in the electoral process.
He expressed disappointment at the current state of gender representation in Nigeria’s parliament, calling it a national emergency that needs immediate attention to achieve inclusive legislative governance.
“The entire political landscape is already skewed against women and that’s something we need to address as a matter of national emergency,’’ he stated.
