A bill promoting gender balance in political appointments have been passed by the Kwara House of Assembly on Tuesday. 

The Political Offices Gender Composition Bill, 2021, was passed after the House considered the report of the Joint House Committee on Commerce, Industry, Social Development, and Ethics, Privileges and Judiciary at the committee of the whole.

Chaired by the lawmaker representing Malete-Ipaye-Oloru constituency, Abdulkareem Babatunde-Paku, the committee urged the state government to be gender-balanced in appointments, as submitted by stakeholders at the public hearing on the bill.

The bill was read for the third time by the Clerk of the House, Haleemah Kperogi, prior to its passage, after which the speaker, Yakubu Danladi, directed a copy be forwarded to the governor for assent.

Also, during Tuesday’s plenary, the assembly approved the state government’s request to access the federal government’s bridging facility of N18.2 billion against the N18.7 billion earlier requested.

The facility was approved following a message from the governor and addressed to the speaker, which was read to members at the plenary.

Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq said that accessing the bridging facility initially forwarded to the assembly was no longer feasible, as N18.2 billion would now be accessed.

He said the facility would be channeled toward financing the infrastructural gap of the state.

(NAN)