The House of Representatives has proposed a constitutional amendment to allocate 10% of seats in the National Assembly for women and 5% for persons with disabilities (PWDs).
This proposal, announced by Speaker Tajudeen Abbas on Tuesday during the official opening of the 2025 National Assembly Open Week and the launch of the 10th House Midterm Legislative Scorecard in Abuja, aims to embed these quotas in the Constitution for long-term inclusion.
Under this framework, 83 new seats would be created: 55 in the House of Representatives (increasing its size from 360 to 415) and 28 in the Senate (bringing the National Assembly’s total to 552 seats).
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Speaker Abbas explained that these reserved seats for women would be filled through direct elections on separate ballots and distributed by state to ensure regional balance. For PWDs, 5% of existing seats would be reserved, with candidates nominated by accredited disability advocacy organizations.
Those elected to these reserved seats would have equal rights and responsibilities as other legislators.
Abbas emphasized that this reform is long overdue, noting that women’s representation has stagnated despite constituting half the population.
He cited global examples like Rwanda and Senegal, where constitutional quotas significantly increased female representation.
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