Politics

Reps: Bill On One Female Senator Per State For 2nd Reading

Published

5 years ago

March 12, 2021

A bill to make it compulsory for every state to reserve one seat for female senator will soon come up for second reading in the House of Representatives.

Rep Taiwo Oluga, who is the Chairman, House Committee on Women in Parliament, made this known when receiving the Legal Defence and Assistance Project (LEDAP), a coalition partner to Advance Gender Equality (SAGE) in Abuja.

She said that the bill is an initiative of the committee and part of the efforts being made to increase women representation in government.

“What we are proposing in the bill is to have at least a senator from every state, it can be two out of the three.

“It is not just because the female want to occupy positions, we want to complement the efforts of the men; we are not in competition, just to complement them.

“Why is the committee advocating this? It is because we know we have women who are intelligent and are capable in this country.

“We have females that have the ability, they have demonstrated the ability; we are just 12 in this 9th House but our contributions on the floor cannot be swept under the carpet, the House recognises that.

Oluga commended the contributions of female lawmakers to national issues such as security, health and in reducing the number of children out of school.

The lawmaker said that the issues in the country today cannot be addressed without the participation of women.

She said that women, with population of about 100 million cannot be ignored or left out in the scheme of things.

Oluga said that following the interventions of the committee all 20 female lawmakers in the National Assembly were included in the Constitution Review Committee.

“My own personal opinion is to have 360 members divided by two; how we are going to do it, let the political parties and the INEC cooperate and let everyone be on the same page and make it a reality.

“If you cannot do that, in 2023 give us the 35 per cent affirmative action, and that is what we are doing in collaboration with all stakeholders,” she said.

Earlier, the Senior Programme Manager, Ms Pamela Okoroigwe, said that there was need to strategise on how to increase women representation in government.

Okoroigwe said that such strategy was most necessary as the Constitution was being amended by the National Assembly.

She also recommended that the Constitution should be amended to change the language to reflect all gender.

She said that “He” as used in the Constitution should be removed and let ‘Chairman’ be replaced with ‘Chairperson’.

Okoroigwe said that the Constitution should be amended to ensure 35 per cent affirmative action for women was reflected in political parties’ candidates.

According to her, INEC can be empowered by the Constitution to enforce it by deregistering political parties that fail to conform.

Okoroigwe said that the Constitution should be amended to make it mandatory for the offices of chairman and secretary of political parties be occupied by a man and woman at all times.

She said that the Constitution should also be amended to reflect 35 per cent affirmative action in ministerial appointments and in the Judiciary.

The Programme Manager, Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), Mr Okeke Anya, said that the SAGE is a USAID supported project.

He said that the aim was to drive a campaign to increase the number of women in governance across all tiers.

Anya said that a political party advisory group was being worked on to engage political parties on the need to produce more female candidates.

He said that a Civil Society group was also in place to help amplify and increase the momentum of the SAGE.

Politics

INEC Sets Rivers South-East Senatorial By-Election For June 20

Published

2 days ago

May 13, 2026

The Tide

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has scheduled June 20, 2026, for a series of by-elections into vacant National Assembly seats, with particular focus on the Rivers South-East Senatorial District, where the death of Senator Barinada Mpigi has created a significant political vacuum.

The Rivers contest is expected to draw heightened attention in the oil-rich state, as political actors position for influence in a district long regarded as strategic to the balance of power in Rivers State.

INEC disclosed that the by-elections will hold concurrently with the Ekiti State governorship election, underscoring what promises to be a politically charged day across several parts of the country.

Beyond Rivers, the electoral body listed other affected constituencies to include Nasarawa North Senatorial District, Dawakin Kudu/Warawa Federal Constituency in Kano State, Ondo South Senatorial District, and Enugu North Senatorial District.

The vacancies, according to INEC, arose from a combination of deaths, resignation, and other constitutional developments. In Nasarawa, the demise of Senator Godiya Akwashika has left a gap in a district considered a stronghold of the All Progressives Congress (APC). In Enugu, the passing of Senator Okey Ezea has set the stage for a competitive race in the South-East.

Similarly, the Ondo South seat became vacant following the resignation of Senator Jimoh Ibrahim, who now serves as Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, while the Dawakin Kudu/Warawa seat in Kano opened up after the death of Hon. Muhammad Danjuma Hassan.

Analysts say the Rivers South-East by-election, in particular, could reshape political alignments in the state, as parties jostle to fill the void left by Sen. Mpigi and consolidate their foothold ahead of future electoral contests.

Politics

2027: Bayelsa Senator Gets Critical Endorsement For Second Term

Published

2 days ago

May 13, 2026

The Tide

Stakeholder from Bayelsa East Senatorial District, on Monday, endorsed the incumbent Senator representing them to run for a second term.

Leading the stakeholders, the former Commissioner for Culture and Tourism and Special Adviser to Governor Douye Diri on Political Affairs (iii), Dr Iti Orugbani, said the reason for the endorsement was based on the federal lawmaker’s trajectory of good deeds and massive execution of projects across communities of the Senatorial district.

Dr Orugbani highlighted some of the projects to include landing jetties, telecommunication masts and town halls amongst others, noting that Sen. Agadaga’s performance has exceeded those of others who hitherto represented the oil rich area.

Bayelsa East Senatorial District comprises Ogbia, Brass and Nembe Local Government Areas of the State.

The Governor’s aide who called on the State’s Eastern political enclave to respect the 2022 new zoning agreement, which guaranteed second term for Senators from the District, stressed the need for political tolerance and peace in the forthcoming 2027 polls.

“In 2022 the leaders and stakeholders across party lines from Bayelsa East held a meeting and altered the old single term for Senators from the district’s agreement and signed that begining from 2023 any Senator emerging from the district must serve for a minimum of two terms.

“In 2023, Senator Biobarakuma Degi-Eremienyo, then an incumbent Senator representing the Senatorial district under the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) was given a second term ticket by the party. Though he lost to the PDP.

“Now that the entire state is now APC and the District has an APC Senator in the person of Benson Agadaga from Ogbia LGA, why not also give him a second tenure?

“The stakeholders in 2022 changed the old political agreement because they saw that it wasn’t beneficial to the district any longer. And so, because it was Ogbia Local Government Area that started the old zoning arrangement by producing the first Senator in 1999, I want to plead that let Ogbia also begin the new two terms zoning agreement”, he said.

Also speaking, the duo of woman leader of a support group, ‘Agadema Women’, Mrs. Owadaba Jokori and the Information Officer of the Ijaw Youths Council (IYC), Central Zone, Comrade Ikio, stated that the incumbent Senator has done well for the district in the past three years that he has been in office.

They lauded the federal lawmaker for his infrastructure projects, especially the construction of landing jetties in select communities of the three local government areas of the district, commending stakeholders for supporting the lawmaker in his second term bid.

In his remarks, Senator Agadaga thanked the stakeholders for the confidence reposed in him and the endorsements he has received lately from constituents and admirers across political parties.

The lawmaker noted that within the past three years that he has been Senator, he has delivered dividends of democracy to his constituents across the Senatorial District, emphasizing that the call for him to be senator from the Brass Senatorial District came to him as a surprise, noting that he accepted the clarion call when the clamour became so loud.

“I was Chief of Staff to the State Governor, Senator Douye Diri, when various groups from the zone came calling on me to contest the 2023 Senatorial polls.

“Ever since winning the elections as a senator, I’ve continued to deliver on my mandate in both representation, lawmaking, oversight, project execution and support for constituents when called upon. And I shall continue to do more if elected for a second term”, the Senator said.

By Ariwera Ibibo-Howells, Yenagoa

Politics

2027: Court Sets Deadline For Suit Seeking To Disqualify Jonathan

Published

2 days ago

May 13, 2026

The Tide

Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court in Abuja has set May 15 as deadline for definite hearing in a suit filed by a lawyer, Johnmary Jideobi, seeking to stop former President Goodluck Jonathan from contesting the 2027 presidential election.

The judge on Monday shifted the hearing date following the absence of the plaintiff, Mr Jideobi, and his lawyer in court without any information.

Apart from the absence of the plaintiff, who is a legal practitioner, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, who are 2nd and 3rd defendants in the matter, were also not in court.

Following the absence of the plaintiff and the two defendants, Chris Uche, SAN, representing Dr Jonathan, applied to the court to strike out the suit for lack of diligent prosecution.

Having joined issues with each other, Mr Uche said, the suit is liable for dismissal with a N5 million cost to be awarded against the plaintiff and payable to Dr Jonathan.

He argued that from all indications, the plaintiff has abandoned the suit and ran away upon sighting the preliminary objections raised against the suit, adding that the court is a busy place and not for unserious matters.

Justice Lifu, however, noted that there was no evidence of service of hearing notice on INEC and AGF to appear in court for the suit, adding that lack of service of hearing notice is fundamental.

The judge said rather than striking out the suit, he prefers to bend backward to accommodate the plaintiff and the two defendants for the last time.

While adjourning the matter to May 15, Justice Lifu ordered that hearing notice be served on the plaintiff and the 2nd and 3rd defendants who were not in court on Monday.

The plaintiff, Mr Jideobi, had filed the case seeking an order to restrain Dr Jonathan from presenting himself to any political party as an aspirant for the 2027 election.

He is also asking the court to stop INEC from accepting, processing or publishing Dr Jonathan’s name as a presidential candidate.