We’ll reintroduce rejected gender bills — Speaker

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Abbas Tajudeen, has said the 10th House would reintroduce gender bills rejected by the 9th Assembly as part of its move to ensure women get proper representation in politics and governance.

This is just as Senate President Godswill Akpabio said men should, sometimes, consider stepping aside for women to engage in politics.

They spoke in Abuja on Wednesday at an international conference on Women in Governance, organised by the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies (NILDS).

Abbas, while lamenting the slow pace of gender mainstreaming in politics and governance, assured that the 10th House of Representatives will do everything possible within the legislative powers of the House to ensure women’s proper representation.

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“I understand the frustration of women following the rejection of the Gender Bill in the 9th House of Representatives. That bill failed to pass because of the challenges of finding modalities for its success.

“But the 10th House will be revisiting the bill as part of our Legislative Agenda, and we believe that working together with the women and stakeholders, we should be able to have a law that will benefit the women and all Nigerians and improve governance in Nigeria,” he said.

Similarly, Akpabio said there was the need to raise awareness and challenge gender stereotypes by conducting public awareness campaigns and promoting the value of gender equality in governance.