By: Bashir Hassan Abubakar
The Alheri YS Foundation has urged the Bauchi State House of Assembly to sponsor and pass a Gender Equal Opportunities Bill to give legal force to the 35 per cent affirmative action for women in governance.
The Executive Director of the Foundation, Alheri Yusuf Sarauta, made the call during a courtesy and advocacy visit to the Assembly under the ASPIRE Project, implemented with support from Plan International Nigeria and funded by Global Affairs Canada.
She presented a Draft Advocacy Policy Framework for strengthening the 35 per cent women’s representation commitment, stressing that women make significant contributions as professionals, farmers, entrepreneurs and community leaders, yet remain largely excluded from formal decision-making. She noted that the 10th Assembly has no female lawmaker among its 31 members, describing the situation as a clear indication of the need for deliberate legal and institutional measures to advance inclusive governance.
Sarauta said the proposed framework seeks a guaranteed minimum of 35 per cent substantive representation, with full voting rights for qualified women in appointive positions, including boards and committees, while promoting party inclusion, mentorship and safe participation for women seeking elective office. She also called for a durable legal framework rather than reliance solely on executive directives, arguing that legislation would strengthen Bauchi State’s commitment to national and international obligations on gender equality, including the National Gender Policy, CEDAW, the Maputo Protocol and the Sustainable Development Goals.
Although the state government has appointed four female commissioners and three female special advisers, she said these measures remain insufficient without a comprehensive legal framework capable of sustaining women’s participation in governance beyond individual administrations.
Responding, the Speaker of the Bauchi State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Abubakar Y. Sulaiman, assured the delegation that the demand for legislation on the 35 per cent affirmative action would receive the attention of the House.
He said the Assembly would study the proposal and explore the possibility of prioritising the Bill for consideration and passage, while noting that lawmaking is the constitutional responsibility of the legislature and implementation rests with the executive.
The Speaker’s commitment places the proposed legislation before the Assembly as an opportunity to translate the principle of women’s inclusion into a concrete legal framework, while civil society adv
Bauchi Assembly Pledges Action on 35% Affirmative Action for Women.
