Emerging report indicates that the House of Representatives has reversed itself on three gender-related bills that failed to pass in the ongoing amendments to the 1999 Constitution.
The Punch reports that while there are five gender bills, those to be revisited are Bill 36 to “expand the scope of citizenship by registration;” Bill 37 to “provide for affirmative action for women in political party administration;” Bill 38 to “provide criteria for qualification to become an indigene of a state in Nigeria.”
Those dropped are Bill 35 to “provide for a special seat for women in the National and State Houses of Assembly;” and Bill 68 “to give women a quota in the federal and state executive councils or ministerial and commissionership seats.”
House Speaker, Femi Gbajabiamila noted that the three bills would be included in the second batch of amendment bills to be considered in about four weeks’ time.
The lawmakers in the two chambers had, on Tuesday last week, voted on the 68 recommendations by the Joint Senate and House Special Ad Hoc Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution.
Women groups had stormed the national assembly and other major cities in protest over the failure of lawmakers in passing the gender-related bills.
