By Chris Alu
The Deputy Speaker, House of Representatives, Rep. Benjamin Kalu, yesterday called for partnership from the United States Government to assist Nigeria in her efforts to promote gender equity and electoral reforms.
This is contained in a statement issued by his Chief Press Secretary, Chief Levinus Nwabughiogu, in Abuja yesterday.
Kalu was quoted to have made the call during a meeting with a delegation from the U. S Embassy in Nigeria led by Mr. David Frost, a political counsellor.
The Deputy Speaker who also chairs the House Committee on constitution review said the collaboration would be on three key areas of technical expertise, advocacy and capacity building.
Kalu emphasised the need to share comparative insights on gender responsive electoral systems; amplify stakeholder engagement with civil society, media, and political parties.
He also advocated for the co-creation of a women’s legislative leadership programme to train future female lawmakers.
“How do we partner with the US? We seek the US Embassy support in various areas, technical expertise, and sharing comparative insight on gender responsive, electoral system.
“Let’s know how you’ve done it and succeeded; advocacy, amplify stakeholders’ engagement with civil society, media and political party.
“You already have structures. We can adopt those structures and make them to reflect what we want to achieve with this particular mission.
“It’s not a fanciful outing. Its impact oriented. We need to capacitate those that will drive the impact and it’s through this strategic partnership.
“For traditional rulers, we are thinking as a committee to integrate them into constitution and assigning roles to them, to help enhance national cohesion and unity,” he said.
Kalu said that the constitution review committee had prioritised women and youth participation in governance, judiciary, and local government reforms among others.
He bemoaned the low representation of women in legislative seats nationwide, stressing that the constitution review committee had proposed adding special seats for women in the Senate, House of Representatives, and State Assemblies.
“Nigeria’s democracy remains incomplete so long as half of her population which is the women is relegated to the sidelines.
“Today, women hold a mere four per cent of legislative seats nationwide. In some states, like Kano and Sokoto, not a single woman sits in the State Assembly.
“This is not just a failure of representation; it is a failure of justice.
“To correct this imbalance, we have introduced the Special Seats
Bill (HB 1349) – a 16-year Temporary Special Measure to reserve 182 additional legislative seats for women (37 Senate, 37 House, 108 State Assemblies).
“This arrangement will ensure that one special seat per state in the Senate and the House of Representatives at the national level and one seat per senatorial district at the sub-national level is reserve for women,” he said.
The deputy speaker explained that the bill sought to address systemic barriers – financial exclusion, electoral violence, and patriarchal norms – by creating women-only constituencies.
He also hinted that the zonal public hearing on the thematic areas of the constitution review process would commence soon across the 6 geo-political zones.
“You wanted to know how far we’ve gone in your speech; very soon we will go for public hearing and as our partners in the US, we want to let you know that we are advancing our constitution review process.
“The committee has prioritised broad based public participation agenda, through series of zonal public hearings so that the voices of Nigerians from every region are heard and reflected,” he added.
Kalu explained that the constitution review was a moral covenant with future generations, not just a legislative exercise.
He urged a broad-based public participation and partnership with the U.S. Embassy to ensure that Nigeria’s constitution became a beacon of equity, security, and prosperity.
“Our constitutional review is not just a legislative exercise it is a moral covenant with future generations. With the U.S. Embassy’s partnership, we can ensure that Nigeria’s next constitution becomes a beacon of equity, security, and prosperity.
“Let us move beyond rhetoric to action to co-design a Nigeria-U.S. Governance Innovation Hub to pilot reforms and host joint workshops on state policing models and gender responsive budgeting.
“Together, we can write a new chapter in Nigeria’s story; one where democracy delivers, institutions endure, and no one is left behind,” he said.
Earlier, Frost said their mission to the National Assembly was to explore areas of collaboration with the Deputy Speaker’s Office on the ongoing constitution review.