2027: Women’s groups demand female deputy governors in 36 states

A coalition of women’s advocacy groups has called on political parties to field female deputy governorship candidates in all 36 states ahead of the 2027 general elections, stressing that women’s exclusion from political leadership is a democracy crisis and a setback for women’s political inclusion.

The groups, under the aegis of the Voice of Women Empowerment Foundation and allied organisations, made the demand during a press conference and round table dialogue on audits of all primaries held on X on Wednesday evening.

Speaking at the press conference, the Co-founder and Executive Director of Voice of Women Empowerment Foundation, Mrs Toun Okewale Sonaiya, said that women aspirants across political parties were being pressured to step down, excluded from screening processes and replaced through last-minute political arrangements despite meeting constitutional requirements.

She described the trend as a threat to Nigeria’s democracy and women’s political participation.

“We speak today as a coalition of women-led movements, CSOs and citizens alarmed by the outcome of the party primary. Across all parties, women who bought forms, mobilised voters, met constitutional requirements, and showed competence were pressured to step down through consensus, excluded from screening or replaced at the last minute through secret deals.

“This is not democracy. It is gatekeeping institutionalised. And if unchecked, 2027 will deliver worse representation for women than 2023,” she said.

Sonaiya lamented that despite constituting nearly half of Nigeria’s population, women remain grossly underrepresented in elective offices.

“Nigerian women are 49.5 per cent of Nigeria’s 240 million population, yet they hold less than four per cent of National Assembly seats, 4.7 per cent of state assembly seats, zero governorship seats, and 14 states have zero women in their state house of assembly.

“Nigeria ranks among the worst globally for women’s political inclusion, despite being Africa’s largest democracy and economy. This gap between policy and practice is indefensible,” she added.

The coalition leader demanded that political parties ensure that every male governorship candidate is paired with a female running mate.

The women’s rights advocate stressed that female deputy governors would significantly increase women’s participation in executive leadership and create a pipeline for future female governors.

“For every male gubernatorial candidate, political parties must present a female running mate. This doubles women’s presence in executive leadership and builds a pipeline for future governors,” Sonaiya stated.

She also called on political parties to publish data on women’s participation in the ongoing primaries, including the number of women who purchased nomination forms, underwent screening, withdrew from races or eventually emerged as candidates.

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“We call on all 36 state governors and national chairmen of all political parties to release data on women who got votes, who were screened, who were pressurised to withdraw, denied tickets, and those who emerged as candidates,” she said.

The Voice of Women ED further urged the Independent National Electoral Commission to strengthen oversight of political parties and ensure compliance with constitutional provisions on fairness and non-discrimination.

The coalition also appealed to President Bola Tinubu to support the passage of the Special Seats Bill currently before the National Assembly.

“We call on the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Bola Tinubu GCFR, to influence the passage of the special seats bill reserved for women before the National Assembly. This temporary measure is a democratic correction, not charity,” Sonaiya said.

The women’s rights advocate warned that the current level of exclusion could undermine Nigeria’s democratic development.

“This moment will define Nigeria’s democracy. History will record whether Nigeria chose progress or regression, whether parties chose courage or convenience, whether democracy expanded or excluded.

“The world is watching. Nigerian women are watching. Girls are watching to see if leadership is open to competence or reserved for a narrow view.

“Women’s exclusion is not just a women’s issue. It is a national development, governance and democracy crisis.

“We will monitor 2027 closely. We will document exclusion. We will publish findings and hold actors accountable. Nigerians deserve to know which parties are serious about inclusion.

“The time for measurable action is now. Nigeria will only rise when democracy reflects all its people, especially its women,” she said.

Presenting data on women’s participation in the primaries, Executive Director of Invictus Africa, Mrs Bukola Shonibare, disclosed that women remained significantly underrepresented among aspirants across political parties.

She noted that only three political parties currently have more than 20 per cent female representation among aspirants.

“The key highlight here is that only three parties currently have above 20 per cent female representation as aspirants. Those parties are number one, the PDP at 28.2 per cent, YPP at 22.7 per cent, and YP at 20 per cent,” she said.

Shonibare noted that the All Progressives Congress, which has the highest number of aspirants, recorded only 209 female aspirants out of a total of 2,008.

“The party that has the highest number of aspirants so far is the APC at 2,008 total of candidates of aspirants, out of which 1,799 are male and 209 are female,” she stated.

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She added that the outlook for women’s representation in the Senate remains bleak ahead of the 2027 elections.

“Out of the 109 Senate members, only three women have gotten their ticket back. It means that if these three women actually win the election, it means we will only have 2.7 per cent representation of women in the Senate in the 2027 cycle,” Invictus Africa ED said.