Nigeria's women's representation bill stalls again as 2027 election primaries begin
The Reserved Seats for Women Bill, proposing to add 74 special legislative seats for women nationwide, has stalled despite promises for a 2025 vote, with 2027 election primaries already underway since May 2026. The bill would add one Senate seat per state and the FCT, one House of Representatives seat per state and the FCT, and three state assembly seats per state—expanding the legislature to 146 senators, 397 House members, and about 1,098 state legislators total, with a 16-year sunset clause for review.
This delay is consequential because constitutional amendments must conclude before party primaries to influence candidate selection. With primaries commenced, the bill cannot affect the 2027 elections, perpetuating Nigeria's critically low women's representation—currently below 5% in the legislature (4 senators, 16 House members), down from a peak of 36 women in 2007. Advocates warn this continues a familiar pattern where gender bills gather support but stall pre-election, as seen with the 2022 version and the long-stalled Gender and Equal Opportunities Bill.
Without timely passage, women remain excluded from shaping candidate lists through party structures, reinforcing systemic barriers that quota systems alone cannot dismantle. The bill's fate now mirrors past failures, leaving women's representation unlikely to change for another electoral cycle despite ongoing protests and warnings from groups like Women Political Participation and Yiaga Africa about deepening exclusion.