Under pressure from women across the country, the House of Representatives rescinded its resolution on three gender bills it had previously thrown out during voting on 68 clauses of the Electoral Act Amendment Bill.
After an executive session on Tuesday, the House made the decision.
The decision came after women stormed the National Assembly again yesterday in protest of the bills’ rejection in both chambers of the National Assembly.
Women from all walks of life had been protesting the bills’ rejections, urging the National Assembly to reconsider the bills, which they claimed would give women more power in the country’s political development.
This comes as the wives of 36 state governors pledged to occupy the National Assembly yesterday to express their displeasure with the rejection of women-related bills.
The bills failed to pass last week during a vote on 68 amended clauses in the 1999 constitutional amendments, as previously reported.
Indigeneship, Citizenship, and the 35% affirmative action on Political Parties bill are among the bills that will be reconsidered.
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The bills will be up for vote in four weeks, according to House Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila, who announced the House’s decision.
“That action is to rescind three of the decisions that were made on that day,” he explained (March 1). They’ll be up for voting in the next four weeks.”
In a situation where the voting results differed, Gbajabiamila said he would rely on the constitution to decide on the harmonization because the constitution allows the House to regulate itself.
“Let me just touch on the clause briefly. If there is a disagreement at that point, we will seek harmonization.
“The House can regulate its procedures under the constitution section.” He stated, “I will rely on the Constitution to harmonize.”
He summoned Abubarkar Fulata, the chairman of the House Committee on Rules and Business, to move that the House’s decision be overturned.
Fulata later moved the motion, which was seconded by Toby Okechukwu, the House’s deputy minority leader.
There were no disagreements during the speaker’s call for a voice vote on the development.
Women have taken to the streets once more. Bills that were rejected by the National Assembly
Meanwhile, scores of women’s organizations continued their protest at the National Assembly’s main gate yesterday, preventing many people from entering the complex.
They had promised not to leave until the bills were re-examined.
Last week, the women protested the lawmakers’ action under the aegis of Nigerian Women Groups, promising to return if the decision was not reversed.
They kept their word, returning in greater numbers yesterday and promising to keep protesting until lawmakers bowed to their demands.
They said women’s marginalization in the country must end, and they demanded an apology from lawmakers, as well as the names of those who voted against the bills, which they promised to publish for all to see.
The wives of governors have vowed to occupy the National Assembly of States in protest of bills that have been rejected.
Meanwhile, the wives of the federation’s 36 governors vowed to occupy the National Assembly yesterday to express their displeasure and disappointment over the rejection of women-related bills in plenary last week.
To mark International Women’s Day, the Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Wives Forum, NGWF, and the First Lady of Ekiti State, Mrs Bisi Fayemi, issued a statement condemning what they called “blatant discrimination” against Nigerian women.
The First Ladies stressed that women’s voices and lives matter because they make up half of the country’s population, and that there can be no development without full and equal participation of women in all aspects of life.
They went on to say that any country that continued to deliberately stifle women’s advancement was simply stifling its own progress.
Mrs Fayemi promised that the governors’ wives would continue to engage with a wide range of stakeholders to support the proposed constitutional amendments that would make Nigeria’s constitution more gender-friendly.
According to her, as the wives of state executives, the first ladies will exert pressure on federal and state legislators to do the right thing and act as true representatives of the people, with women accounting for at least half of the legislature.
Remember that a bill last week in the upper legislative chamber that sought to give at least ten slots to women as ministers and commissioners in the federal and state governments failed.
There are a total of 88 senators who have registered to vote. A total of 44 senators voted yes, 43 senators voted no, and 1 senator abstained.
The bill, which was supposed to ensure women’s inclusion in governance, failed to pass because it lacked the 73 votes needed to pass.
“Every March 8th, communities all over the world gather to commemorate International Women’s Day, IWD,” the statement read. It’s a good time to reflect on women’s status, to point out the many ways in which their rights are still being violated, and to assess progress made.
“Today is a day for governmental and non-governmental actors, corporations, development partners, and social movements to commit to closing gender gaps and addressing the numerous challenges that women still face in public and private life.”
“The number of women in the National Assembly has steadily decreased over the last three electoral cycles (2011, 2015, and 2019).” Nigeria currently has 109 senators, with only seven of them being women.
“There are only 13 women in the House of Representatives, which has 360 members.” There are at least 14 state legislatures that have no female members. There are no female governors in the state. These alarming statistics show that there is a deep-seated bias against women in leadership positions, and unless immediate action is taken, the situation will worsen.
“On March 1, 2022, the National Assembly delivered some very disappointing news to Nigerian women. There are currently 68 amendments up for debate in the ongoing constitutional amendment. There are five bills aimed at ensuring gender equality and justice.
“The Bills are as follows:! A bill to increase women’s representation in the Senate and House of Representatives by adding more seats for them. This bill will level the playing field, resulting in a significant increase in the number of women in the National Assembly, which is currently at 5%. The bill was turned down.
“A bill to allow Nigerian women to transfer citizenship to their foreign husbands, which is a right that every Nigerian man married to a foreign spouse has.” The bill was turned down.
“A bill requiring at least 35% affirmative action in political party administration and appointive positions at the federal and state levels.” The bill was turned down.
“A bill to ensure that women make up at least 20% of ministerial or commissioner nominees.” The bill was turned down. After five years of marriage, a woman can become an indigene of her husband’s state. The bill was turned down.
“Our interpretation of what happened with this voting pattern in the National Assembly on March 1, 2022 is that Nigerian women’s progress was rejected.” All of the proposed constitutional amendments were intended to eliminate bias against women and to reduce, if not eliminate, the barriers that millions of women face because of their gender.
“We hereby condemn this blatant discrimination against Nigerian women in the strongest terms possible.” Our voices and lives matter because we make up half of the country’s population.”
Women can no longer be denied, according to Buhari.
On the occasion of International Women’s Day, March 8, 2022, President Muhammadu Buhari extolled Nigerian women, saying they were not where they should be in various fields of endeavor.
He, on the other hand, stated that they could no longer be denied for long periods of time because they had consistently demonstrated their ability to compete on all fronts and in all fields.
Femi Adesina, the President’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, made the announcement in a statement titled “International Women’s Day: President Buhari Salutes Womenfolk,” which he signed yesterday.
According to Buhari, the event, which is being held under the hashtag #BreaktheBias and the theme Gender Equality Today for a Sustainable Tomorrow, is an opportunity to reflect on the important roles women play in society, homes, governance, professions, and all walks of life.
He praised women’s contributions to the current administration as ministers, special advisers, senior special assistants, executive directors, executive secretaries, and a variety of other positions, noting that they were doing their jobs and making it impossible to dismiss their importance.
