The Speaker of the Kogi State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Aliyu Umar Yusuf, has reiterated his commitment to promoting greater inclusion of women in governance, pledging support for initiatives aimed at increasing female representation in elective offices.
The Speaker made the commitment on Wednesday during a meeting with the leadership of the Kogi State chapter of the Nigerian League of Women Voters (NILOWV), which is advocating for the creation of special legislative seats for women at both the National Assembly and State Houses of Assembly.
According to a statement issued by the Speaker’s Chief Press Secretary, Yabagi Mohammed, the Speaker was represented at the meeting by the Deputy Speaker, Rt. Hon. Comfort Nwuchiola.
Speaking during the visit, the Kogi State Chairperson of NILOWV, Aisha Isa, presented a proposal for an electoral college system to fill the proposed reserved seats for women.
She described the initiative as a practical step toward addressing the persistent underrepresentation of women in Nigeria’s political landscape.
Under the proposal, women occupying the additional legislative seats would not emerge through the conventional general election process.
Instead, political parties would nominate qualified female candidates, while an electoral college would elect successful nominees through an indirect election to be conducted by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Isa explained that the electoral college would comprise elected local government chairmen and vice chairmen, councillors, members of the State House of Assembly, members of the House of Representatives from the state, and senators representing the state.
In Kogi State, the proposed electoral college would include chairmen and vice chairmen of the 21 local government areas, councillors, the 25 members of the State House of Assembly, nine members of the House of Representatives and three senators.
She stressed that the proposed reserved seats would be additional positions and would not prevent women from contesting existing elective offices.
NILOWV argued that electoral reforms have become increasingly necessary following recent party primaries in which many qualified female aspirants, including incumbent lawmakers, failed to secure party nominations.
Beyond political inclusion, the organisation also renewed its commitment to advancing girls’ education across Kogi State as part of efforts to combat child molestation and early marriage through sustained public awareness, community engagement and support for the education of the girl-child.
The group congratulated women across Kogi State and Nigeria for sustaining the campaign for greater political inclusion and urged them to remain united in the pursuit of equal representation and national development.
