Members of the Adamawa State Chapter of the Nigeria Association of Women Journalists (NAWOJ) rallied on Monday for the immediate passage of the Special Seats Bill.
Describing the bill as a crucial step towards gender equity in Nigeria’s political landscape, the NAWOJ members said it is a demand for the soul of Nigeria’s democracy.
The members carried placards reading variously, ‘Adamawa Women Say Yes to Special Seats Bill’ and ‘4% Women in Leadership Not Enough’, among others.
Addressing newsmen during the event at the NUJ Press Centre in Yola, the Chairperson of NAWOJ in Adamawa, Felicia Dauda, lamented that in the 10th National Assembly, only 21 of 469 members are women, representing just 4.2 per cent.
“The Senate has 4 women out of 109 members (3.7 per cent), while the House of Representatives has 17 women out of 360 members (4.7 per cent),” the NAWOJ Chairperson noted, adding that at the state level, only one woman sits in the 25-member House of Assembly, while 13 of Nigeria’s 36 states have no female lawmakers at all.
“Adamawa’s federal representation tells the same unacceptable story as all three senators and eight House of Representatives members are men,” she said, expressing regret that while women make up nearly half of Nigeria’s 220 million people, “we are largely excluded from decision-making.”
She contended that marginalising women is not just a gender issue but a governance crisis that affects policy, democracy, and national development.
She urged Adamawa’s National Assembly members and the State House of Assembly to support and ratify the bill.
Support for the Monday push for the Special Seats Bill came from other women leaders in Adamawa State, including Habiba Bakari, President of the Medical Women Association of Nigeria, Adamawa Chapter, who stressed that female representation could help reduce maternal and child healthcare challenges.
On her part, Rebecca Kwabe, chairperson of the National Council of Women Society, Adamawa State, said it is time for women to be given opportunities to contribute meaningfully to development.
