The International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA) Nigeria has raised alarm over the systemic exclusion and underrepresentation of women in Nigeria’s legislature, calling it a serious setback to national development.
Mrs. Chioma Onyenucheya-Uko, Chairperson of FIDA Abuja, spoke at the 2025 FIDA Law Week themed “Advancing Women’s Representation: Reserved Seats and the Future of Nigeria’s Legislature.” She argued that the real question is no longer if women deserve representation, but how Nigeria’s legislature can claim to represent the nation while silencing half its population.
She emphasized that excluding women removes vital “wisdom, intuition and multidimensional leadership” from governance and recalled former Minister Iyom Josephine Anenih’s words that women are “jinx breakers” and solutions to the nation’s problems.
Currently, women hold just about 3.62% of seats in the Federal Legislature, a statistic described as alarming and unacceptable. Onyenucheya-Uko stressed that reserved seats are not charity but structural corrections needed due to cultural, financial, and institutional barriers.
FIDA’s priorities include reforming legal frameworks and party processes to guarantee women’s candidacy, building female leaders’ capacity, ensuring safe environments, and enforcing affirmative action commitments.
She called on political actors, civil society, the media, and male allies to champion reserved seats until women’s presence in the legislature is ordinary, not debated: “A legislature without women is like a choir missing half its voices. It can sing, but it cannot achieve harmony.”
Onyenucheya-Uko urged stakeholders to move beyond talk and build a legislature that truly reflects Nigeria’s diverse population, amplifying women’s voices for a fairer democracy.
Mrs. Wendy Kuku (SAN), Chairperson of the Law Week Committee, highlighted global progress with gender quotas in countries like Chile, Rwanda, and New Zealand, showing women’s leadership strengthens democracies and development.
She said Nigeria stands at a turning point: “No legislature is complete without women’s voices, and no democracy can claim legitimacy if it excludes half its citizens.” She called on lawyers, policymakers, and activists to engage beyond old debates and drive reforms based on legal principles and development needs.
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