The Senate Committee on Constitutional review visited Plateau Statesome months back, to engage stakeholders on several proposed reforms especially the creation of new states in the country. Asides the creation of new states, one issue stood out: the Reserved Seats for Women Bill.

During the visit, many government appointees and political actors from Plateau openly supported the amendment, arguing that women deserve greater representation in Nigeria’s political space. The Governor of Plateau state Barr Caleb Manasseh Mutfwang expressed strong support for the bill, one that heralds down the ranks throughout the Executive, Judiciary, and Legislature.

What Exactly Does the Bill Propose?

The Reserved Seats for Women Bill seeks to create additional women-only seats at both federal and state levels, structured as follows:

The Senate House: 1 extra seat for women per state and the FCT → 37 new seats

The House of Representatives: 1 extra seat for women per state and the FCT → 37 new seats

The State Houses of Assembly: 3 extra women-only seats per state (one per senatorial district) → 108 new seats

In total, the National Assembly would gain 74 new women-only seats, while State Assemblies nationwide would gain 108.

Supporters of the believe this structure is the only practical way to close Nigeria’s huge gender gap. Nigeria currently ranks low globally in women’s political representation often below 5% of seats held by women.

In the Nigerian Senate (10th Assembly) there are 4 women out of 109 seats.

In the House of Representatives of Nigeria there are 17 women out of 360 seats.

The big question, will it scale through??
The constitutional amendment process is notoriously tough, requiring:
Passage by two-thirds of the National Assembly
Approval by at least 24 state Houses of Assembly
Presidential assent
Previous attempts at improving women’s representation were widely supported by the public but still failed at the legislative stage due to political interests, party dynamics, and regional disagreements.
Now, with Plateau State and several stakeholders showing strong support, many are wondering whether the momentum is finally enough to break the cycle.