The House of Representatives today rejects a bill seeking to grant a two-week paternity leave for men after their wives have been delivered of babies.
The bill was sponsored by a member of the All Progressives Congress from Plateau State, Mr. Edward Pwajok (SAN).
Pwajok had argued that men needed some days off their work to attend fully to mother and child.
The lawmakers argued that since it’s the woman who carries the child for nine months, the leave should be for the woman, and not for the man.
However, the majority of the lawmakers, who opposed the bill, noted that the idea of maternity leave for women was conceived for them to rest and recover fully from labour pains.
A member from Rivers State, Mr. Kingsley Chinda, held that men probably played no more roles in carrying the growing foetus after putting their wives in the family way.
“The woman carried the child for nine months. The leave is for the woman, not the man.
“I don’t think that, of all the serious issues out there, our constituents will be happy seeing us on live television debating a bill on paternity leave,” said Chinda.
The bill was later rejected in a majority voice vote.
