He Westminster Foundation for Democracy (DMA) has called on the National Assembly to introduce affirmative action bills that will create quotas for women, youth and people with disabilities in elected and appointed positions.
The recommendation was contained in a DMA report titled; “A Study of Inclusive Practices of Nigerian Political Parties (2023)”. The report was released on Tuesday during a conference held for political parties in Abuja.
The WFD recommended that the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies (NILDS) pressure lawmakers to create laws that use both incentives and sanctions to improve political inclusion.
“Legislators should institute quotas at all levels that include rank order rules for candidate lists for women, youth and people with disabilities, and introduce incentives and sanctions (financial and non-financial) for relevant stakeholders,” it states. reads part of the report.
The report also “called on legislators to review existing legislation to increase inclusion and reduce the costs of running for elected office at different levels of political party structures (district, local, state and national government) for women, young people and people with disabilities.”
Similar bills were introduced in the last Assembly (2019-2023), but were rejected by lawmakers, sparking protests by women’s groups at the entrance to the National Assembly for weeks.
One of the gender bills sought to establish 35 percent affirmative action for appointed positions, while another sought the creation of specific legislative seats.
Overmonetization of the political process
The report identified monetization of the electoral process and lack of will of political parties as the main factors driving political exclusion in Nigeria. He stated that political parties are not even complying with their constitution regarding inclusion.
“Excessive monetization of politics, unequal access to resources and lack of opportunities create an additional dilemma,” the report states.
She further stated that: “All political parties may appear very inclusive on paper, especially in terms of processes, provisions and opportunities for women, youth and people with disabilities, but the reality is quite the opposite.
“There is a lack of evidence that many of the parties have complete membership records, not one with disaggregated social characteristics, such as women, youth and people with disabilities. “Some of the parties have well-articulated and elaborate provisions for these underrepresented groups in their constitutions and manifestos, but there is very limited evidence to suggest that they are consciously implemented.”
We are ready to support Nigeria: British diplomat
Speaking on the quota system, Tom Burge, political advisor to the British High Commission, said there is sufficient evidence to support the call for the introduction of a gender quota system in Nigeria.
He said the UK is committed to supporting gender inclusion around the world, noting that the UK has already provided support to Nigeria to improve gender inclusion.
“Evidence from countries in sub-Saharan Africa and around the world demonstrates that a rapid approach to introducing gender quotas for women in parliament provides the most viable mechanism for women’s participation in politics and governance.
“Globally, there are 130 countries that operate some type of quota system to improve women’s participation in politics. The United Kingdom has provided support for greater political participation by women in Nigeria. Including a campaign on inclusion in the run-up to the last general election. And the latest constitutional amendment to introduce quotas,” she said.
Burge also decried the decline in the number of women and youth in government positions in Nigeria. She said democracy cannot survive the exclusion of half the population.
“The proportion of female representation, as we mentioned previously, is relatively low. The national average is currently 6.7 percent, both elective and appointed, which is unfortunately below the world average: 26.7 percent. And it is also below the West African average. Democracy cannot allow half the population to be excluded from decision-making,” she stated.
In his remarks, Adebowale Olorunmola, National Director of the WFD, also condemned the exclusion of women, youth and persons with disabilities. He stated that political parties must be willing to adhere to the Nigerian constitution.
“After the elections, we have appointments dominated by men, not by people with disabilities, young people or women. Failure to do so has resulted in Nigeria having the lowest number of women in parliament in Africa; However, we are the giant of Africa.
“The DMA is keen to work with political parties and other stakeholders to ensure we can change the declining representation and participation of underrepresented groups. And in partnership with NILDS, the WFD is ready to constructively collaborate with political parties,” he stated.
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In her speech, Mary Musa, Secretary-General of the Network of Women with Disabilities (NWWD), said President Bola Tinubu is yet to appoint any person with disabilities in the appointments made so far. She stated that even political parties remain prima fascia without making any systemic efforts at inclusion.
“The government is still trying to fix things, but we haven’t seen any disabled people, and it’s really unfortunate,” he said.
The conference was attended by representatives of various Nigerian political parties and members of civil society.