President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will soon transmit to the National Assembly two Executive Bills seeking special legislative seats for women and representation for persons with disabilities at the national and sub-national levels.
House of Representatives Speaker Tajudeen Abbas announced this when he hosted the President of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR), Dr. Ike Neliaku; President of the Global Alliance for Public Relations and Communication Management, Prof. Justin Green, and other members of the board on a visit.
Informing his guests about the legislative initiatives of the 10th National Assembly, Abbas said the proposed legislation on women’s representation would provide special seats for women in the National Assembly, besides existing elective seats that legislative candidates contested for.
The Speaker stated that the Federal Ministry of Justice was fine-tuning the Bill, following President Tinubu’s agreement to sponsor it as an Executive Bill.
‘We have persuaded Mr. President, and he has accepted for the very first time to sponsor the Executive Bill. Through our efforts, the Executive Bill proposed to the National Assembly to provide seats, special seats for women, that would be independent from the regular seats that have been contested,’ Abbas said.
The Speaker also said President Tinubu was expected to transmit another Executive Bill in the coming weeks that will provide legislative representation for persons with disabilities at both the national and the sub-national levels.
He said the National Assembly facilitated the initiative in collaboration with the Presidency to increase representation of persons with disabilities in legislative institutions across the country.
‘We also initiated and facilitated, through Mr. President, for the very first time, the inclusion of representation of the physically challenged in the National Assembly and the sub-nationals,’ he said.
Abbas said the initiatives were part of the efforts of the 10th Assembly, which began in June 2023, to promote inclusivity and broaden participation in governance.
He added that the House had introduced the National Assembly Open Day, an annual initiative designed to enable Nigerians to scrutinise its legislative activities and engage directly with lawmakers and committees.
According to him, the third anniversary of the initiative recently provided an opportunity for people from different sectors to interact with the House, examine its legislative activities and make recommendations.
Abbas said the initiative was aimed at making the National Assembly more accessible and responsive to Nigerians, promising that the House would continue to introduce measures to strengthen public participation in the legislative process.
Commenting on Nigeria’s hosting of the World Public Relations Forum (WPRF), scheduled for November 15 to 22, the Speaker described the event as a ‘historic opportunity to showcase the country’s potential to the international community’.
He said the forum would provide participants from around the world an opportunity to see Nigeria beyond the perceptions of its development challenges.
‘I am happy, particularly not because of the 126 countries coming, but for the opportunity that will present itself for those doubting Thomases around the world who think Nigeria is at the lowest ebb of development, to come and see with their eyes what Nigeria is and what Nigeria is promising to be in the future,’ Abbas said.
The Speaker assured the organisers of the National Assembly’s support for the forum, describing Nigeria’s hosting of the international gathering as a significant achievement.
Neliaku had said Nigeria had overcome several hurdles and international doubts about its readiness before securing the right to host the WPRF.
He noted that although Africa first hosted the WPRF in 2007, the forthcoming event would be the first time the global forum would be held alongside the continental public relations conference.
Neliaku said the successful defence of Nigeria’s hosting bid had helped to reinforce confidence in the country’s capacity to host the global event.
Green said Nigeria’s hosting of the WPRF followed a decade-long effort to bring the global public relations gathering to Africa, despite persistent misconceptions about the continent.
He recalled that an earlier attempt to host the forum in Africa in 2015 was cancelled.
‘This has been 10 years in the making,’ Green said, describing Nigeria’s successful bid as a major breakthrough after years of setbacks.
Green also hailed Abbas for legislative initiatives promoting inclusivity, particularly those involving children, youth, women and persons with disabilities.
He said the initiatives reflected the values of the Global Alliance, which seeks to bring people from different regions and cultures together.