"With just about 4 per cent of women elected to the National Assembly and only seven women in the forty-five member cabinet, Nigeria is not doing well on the continental ranking."
The UN Women's Country Representative to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Beatrice Eyong, says the country is lagging in terms of female representation in political leadership compared to other African countries.
Ms Eyong said this on Monday at a one-day seminar on 'the role of the legislature in advancing women, peace and security in Nigeria organised by the UN Women in conjunction with NILDS in Abuja.
According to her, "With just about 4 per cent of women elected to the National Assembly and only seven women in the forty-five member cabinet, Nigeria is not doing well on the continental ranking."
She, however, commended the House of Representatives, who recently passed, for third reading, a bill seeking to reserve four seats for women in the National Assembly, saying, "this is indeed a positive development which demonstrates commitment to change the narrative on women participation in Nigeria."
She called on the lawmakers and other stakeholders to support the amendment of the country's security laws to further enhance a gender-sensitive environment for maximum efficiency and effectiveness in the security sector institutions and the society at large.
According to Ms Eyong, NILDS has reviewed the Armed Forces Act, Nigeria Police Act and the Civil Defence Corps Act from a gender perspective, saying the need to present bills for the amendment of these laws by the 10th National Assembly cannot be overemphasised.
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Meanwhile, in his remarks at the occasion, the Director General of NILDS, Abubakar Sulaiman, said that regarding lawmaking for security sector institutions, the institute and UN Women have engaged members of the National Assembly in several advocacy programmes.
On the part of NILDS, Mr Sulaiman, a professor, said the institute has gone further to establish its Legislative Centre for Security Analysis with the "mandate to critically analyse and advise the legislature on security-related policies and laws from a strategic and informed perspective."
According to him, "The Institute is poised and ready to contribute its quota in ensuring that issues of security and all the critical components, including its impact on women and children, are given the necessary attention."
The DG said the role of the Nigerian legislature in the successful implementation of the women, peace and security agenda is tied to its constitutional mandate and, as such, should be given adequate attention.
"The legislature is uniquely placed not only to drive the process but also to champion greater collaboration with other stakeholders, including gender advocates and civil society," he said.
Attendees at the seminar included Diket Plang, a Plateau senator; House of Representatives members - Khadijat Buka Abba-Ibrahim, Fatima Talber, Miriam Onuoha; Svein Baera, Norwegian ambassador to Nigeria and Anett Gunther, German ambassador to Nigeria, among other participants, including operatives from the security sectors.
