The push for ladies’s inclusion in Nigeria’s governance has acquired a digital enhance with the launch of a 469 Tracker, a civic-tech platform designed to watch the place of each member of the Nationwide Meeting on the proposed Reserved Seats for Ladies Invoice.
The initiative, unveiled in Abuja by a bunch, TOS Basis, is an interactive web site that permits residents to see, in actual time, which of the 469 federal lawmakers assist, oppose, or stay undecided on the invoice.
The title “469 Tracker” represents the whole variety of seats in each chambers of the Nationwide Meeting – 109 senators and 360 members of the Home of Representatives.
On the launch, the Founding father of TOS Basis, Osasu Ogwuche, mentioned in a press release on Friday that the initiative goals to convey legislative accountability nearer to Nigerians, particularly younger individuals and girls who typically really feel disconnected from political participation.
“For too lengthy, political participation has felt distant from younger individuals and girls. With 469 Tracker, we’re utilizing expertise and storytelling to make legislative accountability easy and nearer to our digital era.
“As a younger Nigerian, dwelling or overseas, now you can go on the web site, test your state, and see the place your representatives on the nationwide degree stand on this landmark invoice,” she mentioned.
Ms Ogwuche defined that the platform is structured to mechanically replace every time a lawmaker modifications place on the invoice.
She expressed optimism that the real-time visibility will encourage larger public dialogue and extra assist for the proposed laws.
Why the invoice issues
Ms Ogwuche famous that the Reserved Seats for Ladies Invoice seeks to develop girls’s illustration in governance by creating 182 women-only legislative seats throughout federal and state ranges – 37 within the Senate, 37 within the Home of Representatives, and three in every of the 36 state Homes of Meeting.
It’s thought-about a landmark piece of laws that might reshape gender steadiness in Nigeria’s political house.
As reported by PREMIUM TIMES, the proposal is structured as a brief corrective measure to final 4 election cycles, or 16 years, earlier than assessment.
The concept is to deal with structural obstacles which have lengthy hindered girls’s political participation, together with an absence of entry to celebration buildings, excessive marketing campaign prices, and chronic cultural and institutional bias towards girls candidates.
Presently, girls occupy solely 4 of 109 seats within the Senate and about 18 of 360 within the Home of Representatives, representing lower than 5 per cent of the membership of the federal legislative physique.
In an opinion piece printed by PREMIUM TIMES, Ms Ogwuche harassed that the invoice “isn’t charity; it’s a corrective short-term particular measure.” She added that lawmakers who assist the invoice could be “standing on the appropriate facet of historical past.”
Past monitoring lawmakers’ positions, the 469 Tracker integrates open information, media storytelling, and influencer-driven advocacy to mobilise Nigeria’s youth and digital communities.
The Basis mentioned the platform is a part of a broader motion to make sure that Nigeria’s subsequent democratic section is inclusive, clear, and gender-balanced.
Rising political assist
In response to the assertion, the TOS Basis is working with digital creators, grassroots organisers, and journalists to make governance advocacy relatable and measurable.
The Basis plans to make use of the tracker to strengthen public participation in legislative processes via strategic partnerships, social-media campaigns, and newsroom collaborations.
The marketing campaign has already secured high-level political assist. Each the President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, and the Speaker of the Home of Representatives, Abbas Tajudeen, have publicly endorsed the Reserved Seats for Ladies Invoice.
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The Vice President, Kashim Shettima, and the First Woman, Remi Tinubu, have additionally declared their backing, alongside the Nigeria Governors’ Discussion board and the Spouses’ Discussion board.
If profitable, the 469 Tracker might develop into a defining instance of how information and digital instruments can form public engagement in Nigeria’s law-making course of.
About TOS Basis
The Osasu Present (TOS) Basis is a youth-driven organisation on the intersection of expertise, media, and social influence, working to strengthen democracy and civic participation in Nigeria.
Its initiatives use innovation, storytelling, and well-liked tradition to encourage motion, demand accountability, and construct the following era of civic leaders.
