Technocrat Media |Abuja
Eyinnaya Abaribe, Senate minority leader says the upper chamber may not reconsider the gender bills rejected by the legislators.
Mr Abaribe according to TheCable said this on Sunday on 90MinutesAfrica, an online interview programme, hosted by Rudolf Okonkwo and Chido Onumah.
The national assembly lawmakers had on March 1, voted against women-related bills in the ongoing constitution amendment.
The bills include seeking special seats for women in the national and state houses of assembly.
Also a bill seeking to provide “reserve quota” for women on appointments.
Women’s groups and civil society activists across the country mobilised to the national assembly and have been demanding a reconsideration of the women-related bills.
Meanwhile, the lower chamber has rescinded its decision on three ”gender bills” and said they will be reconsidered by the legislators.
But Mr Abaribe in his interview on Sunday said, there is no provision for the bills in the Senate schedule for the remainder of its tenure and that “the senate is not reconsidering revisiting the bill”.
He said even if the bills were to be reconsidered, they would have to be reintroduced as fresh bills, adding that the political and electioneering activities ahead of the 2023 elections would make that process difficult to achieve because “senators may not pay attention to the bills as they would be engrossed in ensuring their survival in the political field”.
He, however, said there was a glimmer of hope if both chambers of the national assembly agree to fast-track the process.
Speaking further, the senate minority leader explained how the gender bills were “debated, voted and agreed” upon in the committee sessions.
“The members of the committee came from all parts of the country. So, after agreeing on the gender bills at the committee level we thought they would be passed easily on the floor of the Senate without too much problem,” he said.
He expressed surprise that the bills were overwhelmingly rejected by senators during voting and pointed out that the action of the senators shows that the “influence of gender and cultural patterns is still very strong and preeminent in their thinking”.
