◾Says IMHA will adapt, domesticate it
By Eze Adiuku, Owerri
An Imo State lawmaker and member representing Ehime Mbano State Constituency, Hon. Bernard Ndubuisi Ozoemena, has expressed support to the clamour for the passage of the Special Seats Bill, which is aimed at giving women more opportunities to be part of the legislative governance in the country.
Making his views known at the House of Assembly complex in Owerri when members of Social and Integral Development Centre (SIDEC) paid an advocacy visit to him on Tuesday.
Hon Ozoemena who is Chairman of the House Committee on Women and Humanitarian Affairs, also promised to make contributions to support the bill in Imo.
The advocacy visit by SIDEC is part of Project Impact in partnership with the Nigeria Civic Society Situation Room with funding support from UK FCDO.
The project is an intervention involving advocacy, mobilisation, participation, and transformative initiatives aimed at protecting women, children, and people with disability, being undertaken to reach stakeholders in Anambra and Imo states.
The lawmaker lauded SIDEC for the advocacy efforts, emphasizing the need for inclusive governance for societal progress.
He promised to work towards the domestication of the bill, when it is passed by the national assembly. “We will adapt the bill to our local context and replicate it here, tailoring it according to our peculiarities,” he stated.
Speaking on the Bill, Executive Director of SIDEC, Ugochi Agalaba -Ehiahuruike disclosed that the Bill which has passed its first and second reading, is sponsored by Hon. Benjamin Kanu, Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Agalaba-Ehiahuruike who bemoaned the absence of a female lawmaker at the Imo State House of Assembly, highlighted the need for women in governance, especially elective positions, adding that it will ensure balance and inclusivity.
Using statistics to buttress her point, SIDEC Executive Director revealed that there are only four female senators out of 104 senators in the country, 16 female lawmakers out of 360 Members in the House of Representatives, and 55 females out of 991 in all the Houses of Assembly members across the 36 states, insisting that passing the Special Seats Bill for women, will correct the glaring imbalance and help women to make meaningful contributions to governance.
She cited nations like Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda among others as some African countries that have recorded success in governance with greater women participation.
