The House of Representatives has passed for a second reading, a bill to provide a proposed leave for spouses to mourn one another after his or her death
Rep. Sa’idu Musa Abdullahi (APC, Niger) sponsored the bill which was titled, “A Bill for an Act to make Provision for Widowhood Leave to be given to Man or Woman whose Spouse died during the Subsistence of the Marriage to enable the Widow and Widower mourn the deceased Spouse and make immediate arrangements for the challenges ahead and for Related Matters (HB.401)”
The bill seeks a five-month Widowhood leave eligible woman while a widower is eligible for Widowhood leave of one month with full pay in any of the two instances.
It stated, “This bill shall apply to employees of both public and private sectors of the federation”.
Rep Abdullahi who led the debate at the plenary on Tuesday, said death is an evitable end with a devastating effect on spouses when they lose their partners, “as such they need time to mourn within a specified period.”
Rep. Abdullahi said some religions and cultures in Nigeria have provisions for mourning periods for women, hence the need to formally recognize and provide a legally recognized period for spouses to mourn the death of their partners.
Speaking on the bill, , Rep. Ademorin Kuye, supported it, saying what his mother went through when their father died while they were young as she had to resign from her job to observe the mourning period.
