The Deputy Speaker of Nigeria’s House of Representatives, Benjamin Okezie Kalu has given a ray of hope on the 5 rejected gender payments, promising that the tenth House would revisit them together with these not accorded presidential assent.
He gave the reassurance when the Women Advocates Research and Documentation Centre (WARDC), the NCAA, GECORN, Womanifesto and different Gender Bills Response Cluster members (GBRC) paid him a courtesy name in his workplace on the National Assembly, Abuja.
The Deputy Speaker who highlighted the suitable sections within the structure the place amendments have been sought by the ladies stated it was vital to improve ladies’s participation in politics.
It shall be recalled that the 5 payments failed to fly within the rapid previous ninth National Assembly as they couldn’t safe the required majority votes.
He harassed that in a rustic like Nigeria the place ladies and ladies made up 49.32 per cent of the inhabitants, their quantity ought to replicate the proportion of illustration within the majority of establishments, together with the legislature with solely 4% of ladies.
He counseled the group for beginning the advocacy early, urging them to additionally attain out to Nigerians typically for his or her help.
“We are all aware that any society that is desirous of achieving equitable development, cannot sidestep such fundamental matters as gender equity and women empowerment. This is particularly important in a country like Nigeria where women and girls make up 49.32 per cent of the population. In real terms, this should reflect the proportion of representation in the majority of our institutions, including the legislature where we have only 4% of women.
“The 10th Assembly has the opportunity to further the rights of women and improve female participation in the political space but this is dependent on all stakeholders playing their role through advocacy for the five gender bills that recommend 35% affirmative action for women in political party administration, expand the scope of citizenship by registration, reserve a quota for women in Executive cabinet positions, reserve seats for women in Federal and state Legislative Houses and expand state citizenship rights, and all other such bills.
“I am glad that your organisations are commencing the gender bills advocacy early enough, as we are at the point where all hands need to be on deck for us to successfully crystalize these rights.
“I can assure you that has come at the right time, some of these sections that you are concerned about in our constitution like section 26 (2) paragraph 8; section 31 and section 318(1) to allow women claim their husband’s state at least after 5 years of marriage; section 223 to ensure that women occupy 35 per cent in the spirit of affirmative action and section 147 that has to do with ministerial and commissioners appointment; section 192 that preaches for 35 per cent for women to be nominated as well as reserved seats in section 48, 49, 91 to create additional 37, 74 and 108 seats for women in both Senate and House of Representatives, all these sections will be under the review that we are about to commence.
“We will find out why it did not sail through the last time and find how we can use legislative interventions to make even the ones that we pushed to Mr. President that were returned without the Presidential assent, you can count on us that this parliament is the people’s parliament and we will work together with you to make sure that this equity, this equality, the inclusion that you seek becomes yours if not completely but comfortably solved.
“I’m happy that I’m the chairman of the constitution review committee of the House of Representatives. I believe there’s a lot women have done to build people like us to greatness and if given the opportunity anywhere, they can do a lot of greatness towards nation-building”. Hon Kalu stated.
Earlier in her presentation, the founding Director of Women Advocates Research and Documentation Center (WARDC), Abiola Akiyode Afolabi stated they have been within the House to search the help of the Deputy Speaker within the reintroduction of the gender payments.
“We the members of the Gender Bills Response Cluster, seek your support to reintroduce discussion on the five gender bills on the floor of the House. As you are aware, as part of the Constitution Review process, the 9th National Assembly voted against five amendment bills, popularly known as the “gender bills”, aimed toward utilizing our apex legislation — the Constitution — to tackle sure points affecting ladies and, in so doing, promote ladies’s rights about citizenship, indigeneship, and political inclusion and participation”, she stated.
She appealed to the management of the home by the deputy speaker to tackle the deficiency of ladies’s Representation in each the Senate and the House.
