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Stakeholders have cautioned that Nigeria cannot achieve strong and inclusive governance while women remain largely absent from legislative decision-making. They urged the media to play a more balanced and responsible role as public debate on the proposed reserved seats for women continues to intensify.
Speaking at a one-day media training organised by the TOS Foundation for National Assembly correspondents, gender advocate and constitutional scholar Dr. Chidozie Ajah said Nigeria must confront the entrenched cultural and structural barriers that have shaped women’s political exclusion for generations.
According to him, the low number of women contesting elective positions is not due to a shortage of ability or ambition, but the product of “decades of cultural, religious, and social conditioning” that discouraged women from entering politics. Citing the 2023 general elections, he noted that only 92 women vied for Senate seats out of more than 1,000 contenders, while just 288 women contested for the House of Representatives from a pool of over 3,000 candidates.
He dismissed the narrative that women fail to support one another politically, pointing to historical examples such as the leadership legacy of Queen Amina to show that women have always demonstrated capacity and influence in governance.
Dr. Ajah described Nigeria’s global standing on women’s political representation as alarming. With women holding only 4.7 percent of National Assembly seats 17 in the House and four in the Senate Nigeria ranks 184th in the world “We call ourselves the giant of Africa, yet women occupy less than five percent of legislative seats in a country where they make up half the population,” he said.
He explained that the proposed constitutional amendment seeks to introduce 37 reserved Senate seats (one per state and one for the FCT) and 37 additional seats in the House of Representatives, along with three seats per state assembly, totaling 108 at the state level. These provisions would run for 16 years, spanning four electoral cycles before reevaluation. However, the Senate Committee reviewing the bill has suggested drastically reducing the Senate allocation from 37 seats to just six.
Even at full implementation, he noted, women would still comprise only about 13.6 percent of the National Assembly far below regional and global benchmarks. “This is not a favour,” Dr. Ajah stressed. “It is a corrective measure. A democracy that sidelines half its citizens is operating below its potential.”
Addressing concerns about financial cost, he said the initiative would amount to roughly one percent of the national budget, a minimal expense compared to long-term gains. He referenced a McKinsey report suggesting that Nigeria could increase its GDP by up to $229 billion if women were fully integrated into governance and the economy. He also clarified that the reserved seats are not automatic appointments: “These positions will still be contested. Women will campaign, mobilise, and earn their mandates.”
Dr. Ajah highlighted global evidence indicating that women lawmakers often focus on health, education, social welfare, and grassroots development areas that frequently receive little attention in male-dominated legislatures. He added that women play key roles in peace-building and conflict resolution, further strengthening democratic outcomes.
At the training, media strategist Dr. Adaora Sydney-Jack emphasized that journalists will be central to how the proposed reform is received by the public. She urged reporters to highlight women’s competence, leadership, and policy expertise rather than portray them as charity beneficiaries. “Political reporting is never neutral,” she said. “Every frame, headline, and angle shapes public understanding of power.”
She cited examples from Rwanda, Senegal, and Tanzania, where gender-aware reporting helped normalise women’s leadership and build support for quota systems. Participants were warned against biased practices such as focusing on appearance or marital status, using patronising language, or portraying women candidates as anomalies.
Drawing from experiences in Canada and Sweden, facilitators encouraged newsrooms to adopt gender-sensitive style guides, prioritise issue-driven storytelling, and use professional titles instead of gendered descriptors.
A headline transformation exercise demonstrated how subtle shifts in phrasing can influence public perception. A typical headline such as “Woman Emerges Party Candidate” was reframed as “Education Advocate Wins Party Primary After Policy-Focused Campaign,” redirecting attention from gender to competence.
With rising political tensions expected as the bill moves forward, journalists were urged to strengthen fact-checking, uphold editorial independence, and resist smear campaigns and sponsored narratives. They were also encouraged to ask substantive, policy-centered questions when interviewing women candidates rather than adopting condescending or gendered tones.
The session concluded with a preview of the next training module, which will explore the use of gender-disaggregated data to counter stereotypes and enhance the accuracy of political reporting.
“Reserved seats can be symbolic or transformative,” facilitators said. “How the media chooses to tell this story will shape whether Nigerians view the reform as a step toward justice or dismiss it as political charity.”
