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By Saawua Terzungwe Like the proverbial cat with mine lives, four female politicians scaled the hurdles in the 2023 general elections to clinch four of the 109 seats in the Senate. They are Senators Ireti Kingibe (Labour Party, FCT), Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan (PDP, Kogi Central), Ipalibo Banigo (PDP, Rivers West) and Idiat Oluranti Adebule (APC, Lagos West). This lucidly shows that the 10th Senate has 4 female senators and 105 male senators across party lines.
Daily Trust, however, reports that the total number of senators presently stands at 107, following the death of Senator Ifeanyi Ubah (APC, Anambra South) on July 27, 2024, in London, and the emergence of Senator Monday Okpebholo (APC, Edo Central) as governor of the state in the September 2024 election. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), is yet to conduct by-elections to fill the vacuum created by the two senators. The development in the 10th Senate is in contrast to that of the 9th Senate, which had 8 female Senators and 101 male senators.
More Governors on their way to APC, says Ganduje World Bank appoints Dangote to Private Sector Investment Lab Political pundits have questioned why Nigeria’s democracy has failed to guarantee adequate women representation in the parliament since 1999. Daily Trust reports that the 4 female senators have sponsored a total of 21 bills since assuming office in 2023. However, none of their bills has been passed for third reading or ready for presidential assent.
Observers say the four female senators have been contributing to debates on the floor of the Senate and performing their oversight functions. Banigo tops chart with 9 bills An official document obtained by Daily Trust from the National Assembly showed that Senator Banigo has sponsored the highest number of bills among the four female senators since the 10th Senate was inaugurated on June 13, 2023. According to the document, Banigo had on July 27, 2023, sponsored a bill titled, ‘National Vocational Centre (Establishment) Bill, 2023.
’ On November 6, 2023, she sponsored a bill titled, ‘Electricity Act (Amendment) Bill, 2023.’ On November 28, 2023, Senator Banigo (PDP, Rivers West) sponsored a bill titled, ‘Compulsory Treatment and Care of Victims of Gunshots Act (Amendment) Bill, 2023.’ She also sponsored a bill titled, ‘National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) Act (Amendment) Bill, 2024’ on February 14.
The Rivers female senator also sponsored a bill titled, ‘National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) Act (Amendment) Bill, 2024’.’ She equally sponsored ‘Nigerian Centre for Disease Control and Prevention Act (Amendment) Bill, 2024.’ Others are ‘Public Health Emergency Bill, 2024’, ‘Federal Medical Centre Act (Amendment) Bill, 2024’, and the ‘Federal University of Technology Act (Amendment) Bill, 2024.
’ However, none of the bills has been passed for third reading. She equally sponsored several motions including the motion on fire outbreak and oil spill from Manifold Well 8/BUG 008 in Rivers State, which triggered the red chamber to direct its committees on Environment, Petroleum Resources (Upstream), and other relevant bodies to assess the operators’ compliance with the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Act and other laws. Senator Banigo is the first female deputy governor of Rivers State.
She came on a joint ticket with Nyesom Wike, who ran the state from 2015-2023. She represents Rivers West on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). She studied at the University College Hospital, Ibadan, Oyo State where she obtained her first degree in medicine and surgery.
She proceeded to the Harvard University School of Public Health where she obtained a Masters (M.Sc.) degree.
Adebule Senator Adebule (APC, Lagos West), has sponsored five bills since June 13, 2023 when the 10th Senate was inaugurated. The Lagos senator on February 14, 2024, sponsored a bill titled, ‘Proceeds of Crime Act (Repeal & Re-enactment) Bill, 2024.’ She also sponsored another bill titled, ‘Compulsory Free Universal Education (Amendment) Bill, 2024’ which was passed for second reading.
The Senator, on October 8, 2024, sponsored another bill titled, ‘Land Use Act (Amendment) Bill, 2024.’ She also sponsored a bill for an act to amend the Sheriff and Civil Process Act, Cap S6, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004, and another bill for an act to amend the Child Rights Act, No. 26 Of 2003, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria and several motions.
But none of the bills has scaled third reading. Senator Adebule had served as deputy governor of Lagos State from 2015 to 2019. She currently represents Lagos West, at the National Assembly on the platform of the APC.
She holds a doctorate degree from Lagos State University in Curriculum Studies. Early in her career, she had worked as a junior lecturer at the Michael Otedola College of Primary Education in Lagos and Lagos State University. She also served as Commissioner in the Lagos State Post Primary Teaching Service Commission (PP-TESCOM), now Teachers’ Establishment and Pensions Office.
Senator Adebule also served in the administration of Governor Raji Fashola in July, 2011 as Secretary to the State Government (SSG). Kingibe Kingibe won the 2023 FCT Senatorial election and resumed office in that capacity. She is currently the Chairperson, Senate Committee on Women Affairs.
Kingibe has four bills to her name. They are Bill for the Establishment of FCT Nursing and Midwifery school, which has scaled second reading. She also sponsored Gender Equality Bill, which seeks to incorporate and enforce certain provisions of the United Nations Convention on the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women.
Others are Fire Service Act Amendment Bill, which seeks to amend the Fire Service Act CAP 29 LFN, 2004, and finally, the FCT Maternal and Child Care Bill. But all the bills are yet to be passed for third reading. Within the period, Kingibe equally sponsored five motions.
The most popular, being the motion to stop the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, from further demolition of buildings in Abuja, which came with a lot of drama during plenary. Daily Trust reports that on December 12, 2024, Kingibe stormed out of plenary after what she described as an attempt to stop her from presenting a motion. The motion was a request for the Senate to stop the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, from further demolition of buildings in Abuja.
Natasha She is the senator representing Kogi Central on the platform of the PDP, but she is currently serving a 6-month suspension. She has sponsored three bills so far and several motions during plenary. She is the chairperson of the Senate committee on Diaspora and non-governmental organisations.
However, unlike others, Senator Natasha was sworn in, in November 2023 after the Court of Appeal had declared her winner of the election. On July 11, 2024, she sponsored a bill titled, ‘Federal Medical Centre, Ihima, Kogi State (Establishment) Bill, 2024.’ She also sponsored the ‘Nigerian Gold Reserve Bill, 2024, which was passed for second reading.
Senator Natasha equally sponsored the Nigerian Cottage Industries (Establishment) Bill, 2024, but none of the bills has scaled third reading yet. The Kogi senator also sponsored several motions including the motion, which sought the federal government to immortalise Ohinoyi of Ebiraland, Dr. Ado Ibrahim, by naming the Federal College of Education, Okene, after him.
She also sponsored a motion to investigate alleged corruption that plagued the Ajaokuta Steel Company Limited and National Iron Ore Mining Company (NIOMCO) in Itakpe. In a dramatic twist, the senator recently accused the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, of harassing her sexually, a development that sparked legal issues and stirred a lot of controversies in the polity. The senator earlier had a face-off with Akpabio, over a new arrangement where she was assigned another seat in the chambers.
She rejected it and had an altercation with Akpabio. Consequently, she was referred to the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions for disciplinary review, a development that led to her suspension for six months. The senator is still serving her -six-month suspension as she has refused to apologise to the Senate for alleged gross misconduct.
Nevertheless, the senators neither answered their phone calls nor responded to WhatsApp and text messages sent to them to ventilate their challenges and how they navigate in a male dominated Senate. Senator Natasha’s media aide, Israel Arogbonlo, had responded on behalf of the Kogi lawmaker, but later withdrew the response. He promised to get back but couldn’t 48 hours before press time.
Analysts speak But weighing in on the issue, a political analyst, Aminu Yakudima, said the system in the country does not favour women participation and productivity. He said, “Generally, our system does not permit or favour women in the area of participation as effective as expected.” He argued that “In spite of their agitations, they don’t have the bargaining power to push ahead and be able to have good representation both in the lower and upper chambers.
” Speaking on the 10th National Assembly generally, the analyst said, “This is the worst National Assembly we are having. It has compromised its independence and cannot provide what is expected of the institution. “And the beauty of democracy is the checks and balances of the executive.
There is no way you would have a proper democracy without the National Assembly. “If a government does not have National Assembly, you can’t call that government a democratic government. We expect the National Assembly to be vibrant.
Unfortunately, it is not.” Another political analyst, Jackson Lekan Ojo, however, submitted that the four female senators have not done enough for their constituents and the institution of the National Assembly. Ojo in a telephone chat with Daily Trust said with their “poor performance” in office, it would be difficult to vote a woman as governor of a state or President of the country.
“Honestly, they are not doing well at all. They are a disappointment. So they should step up their game or by 2027, they will be shown the exit route.
Big names, big dresses, expensive jewelries are not what we expect them to go and do in the Senate. “If the few we have in the Senate are not very vibrant, how do you expect us to vote a woman to become governor in Nigeria? How do you expect us to have hope that a woman will become president of Nigeria one day?” he queried. “To me, they are not doing well.
They looked vibrant when they were not yet in the Senate. But immediately they won elections and became members of the 10th Senate, they became inactive. I think, it’s the fault of those who voted them into office because they are not representing their people well,” he said.
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