• Mulls N50m fine for banks violating Disability Act
• Asks FG to withhold allocations to 21 states with unelected LG officials 

The House of Representatives has made significant inroads towards providing additional seats for women in the National Assembly and the 36 Houses of Assembly as it yesterday passed for second reading a bill seeking the creation of 74 seats for women in the National Assembly.
   
This came to the fore during plenary presided by the Deputy Speaker, Benjamin Kalu. Also, there are indications that the House would slam a fine of N50 million on financial institutions over the absence of Persons Living With Disabilities (PLWDs)-friendly facilities like ramps, rails and special toilets while also seeking to withhold allocations to 21 states with unelected Local Government officials.
   
Chairman of the House Committee on Banking Regulations, Muhammad Bello el-Rufai, dropped the hint in Abuja, yesterday, during the multi-stakeholders forum on disability-inclusive governance in Nigeria.
 
The gender bill was referred to the House ad hoc Committee on the Review of the Constitution chaired by Kalu for further legislative inputs.
 
It particularly seeks an alteration of Sections 48 and 49 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) to provide for the reservation of one special seat for women in the Senate and House for each state and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), from the next National Assembly and subject to review every 16 years.
 
The proposed legislation further seeks an alteration of Section 91 of the Constitution to reserve three special seats for women in the Houses of Assembly of each state, which shall be spread across the three senatorial districts of each state.
 
Further, it seeks consequential amendments to Sections 71, 77 and 117 of the constitution to ultimately establish special constituencies exclusively for women, ensuring their direct election into and participation in legislative houses and processes at both the federal and state levels.
 
Kalu, leading debate on the general principles of the bill on behalf of 12 other lawmakers, argued that the alteration was not just about equity, but about harnessing the full potential of the country by leveraging the diverse perspectives and talents of all Nigerians irrespective of gender.
 
 Chairman, House Committee on Disability Matters, Bashiru Dawodu, said it was unfortunate that PLWDs in the country lack access to education and employment opportunities amid other discriminatory practices.
 
Stating that three bills were being considered by the House to address the challenges, he disclosed that his committee would put in place measures to enforce the Disability Act signed into law in 2015 by then-President Muhammadu Buhari.
 
The Chairman of the House Committee on Health Institutions, Amos Magaji, decried the absence of facilities required by PLWDs to access medical facilities in the country.

WORRIED by the refusal of many governors to conduct local government elections, the House of Representatives urged the Federal Government to withhold allocation to states operating with Caretaker Committees, lamenting that no fewer than 21 states in the country are currently without duly elected local government councils.
   
The House also urged the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) to create a special account where allocations due to local governments run by unelected officials would be paid.
   
While calling on the Attorney-General of the Federation to institute legal action against any state that terminates the unexpired tenure of a local government, the House stated that the money should be withheld until elected representatives are put in place by such state governments.

The post Reps move to create 74 extra seats for women appeared first on Guardian Nigeria News.

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