From Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja
The Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives and Chairman of the House Committee on Constitution Review, Benjamin Kalu, will join key stakeholders in a critical dialogue aimed at accelerating women’s participation in Nigerian governance.
The event, hosted by Emerge Women Development Initiative under the SheThePeople platform, takes place on Thursday, at the Entrepreneurship Centre for Women Development (ECWD) Centre in Abuja.
The dialogue is hosted in partnership with the ECWD committed to supporting ongoing stakeholder engagement and advocacy around gender-responsive legislation.
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Themed “Deepening the Conversation, Accelerating Women’s Representation in Governance,” the special dialogue will focus on the Reserved Seats for Women Bill (HB 1349 & SB 440) and related gender-responsive legislative reforms currently before the National Assembly.
The dialogue seeks to build consensus and accelerate legislative action to ensure that women have guaranteed seats in Nigeria’s political institutions, a crucial step toward gender equity in governance.
The SheThePeople platform, founded by gender advocate Mary Ikoku, aims to foster high-level conversations around women’s political participation and empowerment in Nigeria. This edition will convene policymakers, civil society leaders, media professionals, development partners, and grassroots women leaders for robust dialogue on legislative strategies, public buy-in, and advocacy pathways. The event will feature a keynote address, panel discussions with policy and gender experts, and interactive dialogue sessions with participants.
The convener, Ikoku in a statement emphasised the urgency of the bill, stating that “Reserved seats are not a favour—they are a structural correction for decades of exclusion. We must build the momentum to make this reform a reality.”
Other notable personalities expected are Minister of Women Affairs, Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim, Director-General of the Women Development Centre, Vilita Asabe, Executive Director of the African Centre for Leadership, Strategy and Development (Centre LSD), Otive Igbuzor.
Other notable attendees include Dr Abiola Akiyode-Afolabi, Founding Director of WARDC, Deputy National Woman Leader of Nigeria’s ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) Zainab Ibrahim, diplomatic representatives, and prominent civil society figures.
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