Sixth Alteration bill (HB 1349) to create legislative seats reserved exclusively for women — 37 in the House, 12 in the Senate and 108 across state assemblies (157 total) as a 16-year affirmative-action measure. Passed second reading (9 Jul 2026); at the Constitution Review Committee.
This is a bill, not a signed Act. It must clear every step below before becoming law.
The Special Seats / Reserved Seats for Women Bill is a proposed Sixth Alteration to the 1999 Constitution creating extra legislative seats contested only by women, to lift Nigeria's very low share of women in parliament (about 64 of 1,460 seats). As drafted it would add 37 women-only seats in the House of Representatives, 12 in the Senate and three in each of the 36 State Houses of Assembly (108 total) - 157 seats in all - with a 16-year sunset after which the arrangement is reviewed. The House passed it for second reading on 9 July 2026 and referred it to the Committee on the Review of the Constitution; women's groups have rallied at the National Assembly to push its passage. As a constitutional amendment it needs a two-thirds vote in both chambers and ratification by at least 24 State Houses of Assembly before presidential assent.