*Say Women Lawmakers Voted Against.

House Decision is What our Constituents Want

 .President, VP’s Wives Lobby Came Late

By Ubong Ukpong, Abuja

The House of Representatives has said that voting against the bills that sought to enhance women’s participation in governance, in the ongoing Constitution Amendment processes, was a bold statement that the House was independent and not rubber stamp as portrayed in some quarters.

While briefing House of Representatives correspondents in Abuja, yesterday, Chairman Media and Public Affairs of the House, Rep Benjamin Kalu, also disclosed that even female lawmakers voted against the bills.

The House spokesman who said that the House had nothing against the request, disclosed that the earlier visit by wife of the President, Aisha Buhari, was sufficient to influence their voting pattern.

However, he said it was beyond them, as they ought to do the collective will of the people they were representing.
Commending Mrs Aisha Buhari, the President’s wife, he said she knew that the business was beyond the lawmakers that was why she was in the Chambers to lobby.

“That shows that we are not rubber stamp, as the husband would have just given us instruction and it stands. 

“They came to National Assembly, recognizing it was about lobbying. The lobbying came a little too late. You don’t just do it two days. It takes time”, he said.

Kalu maintained that culture, religion and tradition, were amongst factors that played out against the bills as lawmakers were getting last minutes pressure to make sure that the bills failed, saying, “we don’t just vote. We follow instructions.”

He said the House was all out to meet the women’s request, which explained why they passed second reading, but unfortunately, it could not control it at the passage level following Superior interests and standing instruction.

Kalu said what failed today would pass tomorrow, encouraging the women not to give up the fight saying, “There is hope, there is another time. What fail now will scale through another time because sensitization has started.”

He however told the women that in asking for this, they must be democratic and not carried away by sentiments of sex and gender, as democracy was blind and did not recognize sex or gender.

The spokesman stressed that section 42 of the 1999 Constitution was clear, that there shall be no discrimination against persons on ground of sex, gender religion amongst others, and this protected men too.

“If we make laws, we should not offend existing laws”, he said, affirming that it was on this basis that some women rejected the bills.

He said some women were against the percentages sought to be allocated to women, as they held that whatever was good for women should be done based on merits and their capacities.

The House had failed to pass two critical bills,  that sought to empower women in politics in the ongoing Constitution Amendment.

The two bills were, “a Bill for an Act to Alter the Provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 to Provide for Special Seat for Women in the National and State Houses of Assembly; and for Related Matters.”

Another was, “a Bill for an Act to Alter the Provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 to Provide for Affirmative Action for Women in Political Party Administration; and for Related Matters.

Although the House said it had tried by passing one of the three bills, which was, “a Bill for an Act to Alter the Provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 to Provide a Minimum Percentage for Women in Ministerial or Commissioner Nominees; and for Related Matters.” 

The House merely struggled to pass this bill using unconventional method of voice vote, against counting for two third manually, or electronically, but it took Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila’s veto to get it passed.

This effort was however in futility, as it was dead on arrival, with the Senate voting outrightly to kill it, making it impossible to transmit it to states Assembly for approval.