Kogi Assembly Speaker Aliyu Umar backs women’s special seats plan

The Speaker of the Kogi State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Aliyu Umar, expressed support for a proposal to create special legislative seats for women in Nigeria. The proposal, presented by Aisha Isa, chairperson of the state chapter of the Nigerian League of Women Voters (NILOWV), calls for an electoral college system in which political parties nominate female candidates and elected local officials vote to fill the seats. The college would include local government chairmen and vice‑chairmen, councillors, state legislators, and federal representatives from Kogi. Under the plan, the additional seats would be filled indirectly by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) rather than through a general election. NILOWV says the measure would complement existing seats and help address the low number of women elected after recent party primaries saw many qualified female aspirants lose tickets.