Follow Us on Google
Women could emerge with as few as three seats in Nigeria’s 109-member Senate after the 2027 general election if the current trend of political exclusion continues, a coalition of women-led organisations and civil society groups has warned.
The warning was contained in a press release made available to Daily Sun following a national press conference and roundtable dialogue on women’s political participation ahead of the 2027 elections.
The statement was signed by Executive Director of Invictus Africa, Bukky Shonibare; Co-founder and Executive Director of the Voice of Women Empowerment Foundation, Toun Okewale Sonaiya; President of Women in Politics Forum, Ebere Ifendu; and other leaders of the coalition.
According to the coalition, an audit of governorship, legislative and other primary elections conducted by 22 political parties revealed widespread barriers that continue to undermine women’s participation in elective politics. The report identified forced withdrawals, opaque consensus arrangements, candidate substitutions and financial obstacles as major factors limiting women’s chances of securing party tickets.
Presenting the findings, Shonibare said the audit showed that only three political parties recorded female aspirant participation above 20 per cent, while several others posted significantly lower figures. She disclosed that only three women secured senatorial tickets across the parties reviewed.
“Only three women won the primaries for Senate. If this trend continues, women may occupy just 2.7 per cent of Senate seats after the 2027 elections,” she said.
The coalition described the figures as a clear indication that Nigeria risks moving backwards on inclusive representation despite repeated commitments by political parties and public institutions to promote gender equality.
Speaking on behalf of the coalition, Sonaiya said the outcome of the primaries reflected deep-rooted structural barriers within the country’s political system.
“The primary election process has become gatekeeping institutionalised. If unchecked, 2027 will deliver worse representation for women than 2023,” she said.
Other News
The coalition argued that women remain significantly underrepresented at every level of governance despite constituting nearly half of Nigeria’s population. It warned that continued exclusion threatens democratic accountability and weakens public confidence in the political process.
The group called on President Bola Tinubu to support the passage of the proposed Special Seats Bill, describing it as one of the most practical pathways for improving women’s representation in elected offices. It also urged political parties to adopt a policy requiring every male governorship candidate to nominate a woman as deputy governor.
Legal practitioner Austin Aigbe said advocacy alone would not be enough to address the problem.
“Progress requires legal reform, not just training or advocacy,” Aigbe said, adding that the Special Seats Bill offers a realistic framework for addressing Nigeria’s gender imbalance in politics.
Also speaking, Adaora Sydney Jack of Gender Strategy Advancement International rejected suggestions that the low number of women in politics was due to a lack of capacity.
“If countries with fewer economic resources can achieve significantly greater levels of inclusion, then Nigeria’s challenge cannot be explained by capacity. It cannot be explained by talent or a lack of qualified women but structural and political,” she said.
The coalition also issued a seven-point charter of demands to political parties, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), governors and the Federal Government. The demands include the publication of gender-disaggregated data on party primaries, an end to the abuse of consensus arrangements, stricter oversight of candidate substitutions, improved protection for female aspirants and stronger enforcement of constitutional provisions on inclusion and non-discrimination.
Women in Politics Forum President, Ebere Ifendu, called for sanctions against intimidation, harassment and violence directed at female aspirants, insisting that political parties must demonstrate a genuine commitment to internal democracy.
The coalition maintained that women’s political participation should not be treated as charity or tokenism but as a democratic necessity. It pledged to continue monitoring the electoral process, documenting cases of exclusion and engaging stakeholders to ensure that women’s voices are adequately represented in the build-up to the 2027 elections.
