“Reserved Seats For Women: The Nation’s Ultimate Ethical Challenge,” Says APC Women Leader

The All Progressives Congress (APC) National Woman Leader, Dr. Mary Idele Alile, has issued a powerful call for a constitutional amendment to secure reserved seats for women in Nigeria’s National Assembly.

According to iReporter Online, Dr. Alile emphasized that this move is more than just political reform—it is a moral imperative aimed at correcting decades of systemic exclusion that have sidelined Nigerian women from national decision-making.

In a statement released Sunday in Abuja, she stressed that without legally guaranteed representation, Nigeria risks losing the vital voices, ideas, and leadership women bring to the table in governing over 200 million citizens.

According to iReporter Online, Dr. Alile warned that women’s scarcity in the National Assembly is “not merely a statistic — it is a moral wound,” explaining that a nation that silences half its population cannot fully understand itself.

Dr. Alile highlighted the successes of other African countries that have embraced gender inclusion, citing Rwanda’s record-breaking 60% female parliamentary representation, achieved not by begging but through deliberate national commitment.

According to iReporter Online, she underscored that reserved seats are not a favor but a societal obligation, stating, “We lose more than elections when women are kept out—we lose ideas that could save lives, compassion in policy-making, and balance in governance.”

She called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the National Assembly, political parties, civil society, and citizens to act without delay, warning that postponing this reform tells millions of Nigerian girls their dreams must wait.

Dr. Alile concluded with a stirring challenge: the question is not whether women deserve seats in parliament—history has answered that—but whether Nigeria has the moral courage to guarantee those seats now before another generation is lost to exclusion.

”IREPORTER REPORTS”