By Myke Uzendu, Abuja
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has challenged political parties to move beyond rhetoric and take concrete steps to promote women’s participation and representation in Nigeria’s political leadership ahead of the 2027 General Elections.
INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan (SAN), made the call on Wednesday through National Commissioner, Prof. Rhoda Gumus, at a strategic engagement with political party leaders, female candidates, civil society organisations, development partners and the media in Abuja.
Amupitan said democracy could not achieve its full representative potential if women were mobilised primarily as voters while being denied meaningful opportunities to emerge as political leaders.
“A democracy that mobilises women as voters but provides limited pathways for them to become political leaders is yet to fully realise its representative potential,” he said.
Represented by Gumus at the engagement held at Rockview Hotel Royale, Abuja, the INEC chairman said the issue of women’s political participation went beyond any single electoral cycle, stressing that it concerned “the character, inclusiveness and long-term sustainability of Nigeria’s democracy.”
Gumus said women constituted a substantial proportion of Nigeria’s electorate, citing data from the 2023 General Election which showed that 44,414,846 of the 93,469,008 registered voters were women, representing 47.52 per cent.
She said the trend had continued in the ongoing voter registration exercise for the 2027 elections.
According to her, of the 3,867,997 Nigerians who completed registration in the third phase of the exercise as of July 26, 2026, women accounted for 2,037,589, representing 52.68 per cent, while men accounted for 1,830,408.
“Women therefore accounted for the majority of new registrants in the final phase of the exercise,” she said.
Gumus, however, lamented that women’s numerical strength at polling units had not translated into proportional representation among candidates and elected officials.
She cited the 2023 elections, saying only 1,556 of the 15,331 candidates across major elective positions were women, representing 10.15 per cent.
Only three women were elected to the Senate and 16 to the House of Representatives, representing 2.8 per cent and 4.4 per cent of the respective chambers.
“A substantial gap appears to exist between women’s participation as voters and their participation as political leaders,” she said.
The INEC commissioner urged political parties to examine practical ways of supporting female candidates, including providing access to party structures and leadership, campaign platforms, media visibility, fundraising networks, mentoring, political communication, logistics, security and grassroots mobilisation.
She also asked parties to assess whether women were being provided genuine opportunities to advance through their internal structures.
“The participation of women is not a favour to women. It is a democratic imperative,” Gumus said, urging political parties to move “from commitment to action, from aspiration to implementation.”
In a welcome address, the Secretary to the Commission, Dr Rose Oriaran-Anthony, said the advancement of women’s political participation could not be achieved by INEC or any single institution acting alone.
Her address, read by the Director, Gender and Inclusivity Department, Lakunuya Dorothy Bello, stressed the need for collective and sustained action by all stakeholders.
Oriaran-Anthony described political parties as the principal vehicles through which citizens organise, seek elective office and participate in democratic governance, saying their policies, structures and internal processes significantly influence who contests and wins elections.
She urged stakeholders to use the engagement to move beyond acknowledging challenges and develop practical commitments that could improve women’s participation.
The seven objectives of the engagement were presented by Deputy Director, Gender Relations, Mrs Hembadoon Akaayar.
They included securing concrete commitments from political parties to support female candidates, promoting equitable access to campaign resources, increasing the visibility of women candidates, strengthening protection against political violence and intimidation, and creating a more supportive political environment.
Others were ensuring sustained political support for women beyond 2027 and strengthening collaboration, monitoring and accountability among stakeholders.
“Our expectation is that this engagement will produce practical and measurable commitments from participating political parties rather than general expressions of goodwill,” Akaayar said.
She added that INEC was particularly interested in commitments that were “specific, measurable and capable of being followed up.”
Delivering the keynote address, former INEC Director of Voter Education, Publicity, Gender and Civil Societies Liaison, Oluwole Osaze-Uzi, said Nigeria remained one of the countries with the weakest records of women’s representation in elected public offices.
Osaze-Uzi, who is also a former Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice in Edo State, noted that although women constituted roughly half of Nigeria’s population and electorate, they held only about five per cent of seats in the National Assembly.
He further observed that no woman had ever been elected president or governor in Nigeria.
Comparing Nigeria with other African countries, he cited Rwanda, where female parliamentary representation had risen dramatically since the 1990s, as well as Senegal, Namibia, South Africa, Mozambique and Cape Verde, which have adopted different forms of gender quotas or affirmative measures.
He said 41 of Africa’s 54 countries now operated some form of gender quota.
Osaze-Uzi identified legal, cultural, security, financial and political barriers as some of the factors limiting women’s participation in Nigerian politics.
He recommended stronger legal frameworks, party enforcement mechanisms, dedicated campaign funding, mentorship programmes and zero tolerance for intimidation, threats and sexual harassment against female candidates.
He said voluntary quotas could also produce significant results where political parties demonstrated genuine commitment and political will.
INEC urged political parties to translate their declarations of support for women into measurable actions before the 2027 elections, stressing that women who constitute almost half of Nigeria’s electorate must also be given a fair and meaningful opportunity to participate in the leadership of the country.
