Special seats for women require state support — Speaker Abbas

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, has urged proponents of special parliamentary seats for women to broaden their advocacy to state legislatures across Nigeria, stressing that such proposals require constitutional amendment and must secure the approval of two-thirds of State Houses of Assembly.

Abbas made the call through Alhassan Ado-Doguwa the Chairman of the Northern Caucus, during a Citizens’ Roundtable with House leadership in Zaria, Kaduna State, organised for the Northern region.

While reaffirming the House’s support for inclusive governance and gender equity, he emphasized the importance of grassroots engagement to push the bill forward.

“The issue of special seats for women is a constitutional matter,” Abbas said. “Even if it passes through the National Assembly, it still requires the approval of two-thirds of State Assemblies. Therefore, advocacy efforts must target these states.”

The roundtable, part of an initiative launched in December 2024, aims to bridge the gap between parliament and the people by soliciting public input on national governance. Abbas noted that the House’s 10th Assembly is prioritizing citizen engagement and feedback to shape a people-oriented legislative agenda.

“This roundtable demonstrates our commitment to an inclusive and responsive democracy. “It provides ordinary citizens with a forum to present their opinions, influence policy and hold us accountable as their elected representatives,” he said.

Abbas also took time out to express his gratitude to his constituents in Zaria Federal Constituency, for the steadfast support he has received over the years, which he stated has entailed his journey from being a member of the local assembly to becoming Speaker of the 10th Assembly.

For his part, the Minister of State for Education, Suwaiba Ahmad, who was represented by Professor Ali Idris, decried the state of education in northern Nigeria.
Noting that over 18 million children are out of school, he stressed the need for better partnership between the states and federal governments to ameliorate the situation.

He noted that students’ use of Hausa as a language of instruction at kindergarten, and later in primary school, had resulted in their poor performances in national exams such as JAMB conducted in English.

“From Primary One to Three, instruction should be in English to build early language competence,” Prof. Idris said.

Other speakers at the event, including Global Rights Programme Manager Edosa Eviarhe, stressed the importance of representative governance and meaningful civic engagement as pillars of strong democracy.