Nigeria’s low female political representation worries UN Women

UN Women has voiced significant concern regarding the persistently low representation of women in Nigerian politics, particularly with the 2027 general elections on the horizon. The United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) is urging for immediate reforms and the implementation of inclusive governance practices to rectify this imbalance.

Beatrice Eyong, UN Women Country Representative to Nigeria and ECOWAS, highlighted the upcoming elections as a critical juncture for Nigeria to tackle the systemic exclusion of women from governance and leadership roles. She emphasized that the issue is not one of competence, as numerous Nigerian women have consistently demonstrated excellence both domestically and internationally. Eyong stated that Nigeria possesses more than enough capable women to drive development across the country and the African continent.

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The question before us is not whether Nigerian women deserve representation. That one is settled.

Eyong described the current figures as alarming: women occupy only four of the 109 Senate seats and 16 of the 360 seats in the House of Representatives. This amounts to just 4.2% of the National Assembly. Furthermore, 13 state houses of assembly have no female members. Across all elective and appointive positions at federal and state levels, women's representation averages approximately 6.7%. The World Economic Forum ranks Nigeria 143rd out of 144 countries for women's political participation, and the Inter-Parliamentary Union places it among the lowest 10 globally for women in parliament.

Barriers identified by UN Women include exorbitant nomination fees, a monetized delegate system, discriminatory party structures, cultural biases, violence, intimidation, and online harassment. To address these, UN Women recommends that political parties reduce nomination fees for women, support female consensus candidates, and cease assigning women to unwinnable constituencies in preparation for the 2027 elections.

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Women currently occupy only four out of 109 Senate seats and 16 out of 360 seats in the House of Representatives in the 10th National Assembly.