2027 Polls: Open your doors wider for women, FIDA begs political parties

….tasks NASS on speedy passage of reserved seats bill

By Ikechukwu Nnochiri

ABUJA–The International Federation of Women Lawyers, FIDA, Nigeria– Abuja Branch, has urged the National Assembly to speedily pass the reserved seats bill.

The legal body, which kicked off activities to mark its 2025 Law Week, equally implored all the political parties in the country to allow more women to vie for elective positions.

Addressing newsmen at the Ministry of Justice Headquarters in Abuja on Friday, the FIDA Chairperson, Ms. Chioma Onyenucheya-Uko, described the theme of the Law Week: “Advancing Women’s Representation: The Reserved Seats and the Future of Nigeria’s Legislature,” as timely and transformative.

She said: “You may ask: why this theme? It is because Nigeria is at a constitutional crossroads.

“Because democracy cannot thrive while half the population is left standing at the door.

“Because talent, vision, leadership, and national contribution do not come with any gender label. And because the future of this country depends on a legislature that reflects the people it exists to serve.

“For those who ask the curious question: why do women deserve any special seats, it bears mentioning that though elections in Nigeria began in 1923, women of the southern and eastern regions of the country gained their voting rights in 1954, while women of the northern region of Nigeria earned their right to vote in 1979.

“Remember also that there were military coups beginning in 1966 and lasting until 1999, which only threw up male Heads of States and Military Administrators in all the states of the federation, effectively entrenching the unfair advantage men had over women interested in politics, leadership and governance, in Nigeria.

“And though there were intermittent civilian governments, only few elections took place from 1966 to 1999, and your guess is as good as mine, on who continues to enjoy unfair advantage.

“Reserved seats for women is not a gift; it is a corrective tool, a long-overdue restructuring, and an investment in national stability and inclusive governance.

“It aligns with FIDA Abuja’s 2025 priorities of strengthening women’s political participation, promoting gender-responsive legislation, and ensuring that Nigerian women are not merely voters, but active participants, leaders, influencers, and decision-makers.

“We call on policymakers to pass the Reserved Seats Bill, now. Nothing else matters as much to us now.

“We call on political parties: Open your doors wider. Nigeria is full of competent women ready to lead, let them in. And we call on Nigerian women: Take your seat, whether reserved or hard-won. The table is incomplete without you.

“As we commence our Law Week, FIDA Abuja stands firm, clear, and unapologetic: A future legislature that does not include women is not a democratic future at all,” the FIDA Chairperson added.

Likewise, the head of the Law Week Committee, Mrs. Wendy Kuku, SAN, maintained that FIDA, as a part of world’s largest network of women lawyers, “envisions a Nigeria where laws and governance structures guarantee equal access to opportunity, leadership and voice.”

“Law Week is particularly significant. It comes at a time when conversations about women’s representation in politics and governance are gaining national importance,” she added.

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