Ahead of Nigeria’s 2027 elections, women political leaders have raised concerns that the delegate selection process in parties could undermine their chances of securing leadership positions.
They made the lamentation during the opening of the North East Women in Political Parties Summit organised by LEADTOTS Development Initiative with support from the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), held in Gombe State.
Hauwa Gana Ibrahim, the women’s leader of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Yobe State, expressed concern that women are under-represented as delegates within political parties.
She opined that this under-representation often leads to men being favoured during primary elections.
The women’s leader also pointed out that a new law, which requires party executives to contest for delegate positions rather than automatically holding them as delegates, has disproportionately affected women.
According to her, this change has further disadvantaged women, primarily due to the financial constraints they face in contesting for the delegate positions.
“Number one problem women have is all the political parties have to go for primaries and women have a minimum of delegates. And this new law that the last assembly has brought has given more challenge to the women because even those who are in the executive in the parties are no longer delegates,” Ibrahim said.
Rifkatu Maxwell, Head of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Voter Education and Publicity, Gombe State, also highlighted that the delegate selection process favours men in primary elections.
“The delegate selection process in political parties favours men, and most of the delegates participating in primary elections are men, which makes them often choose men over women,” Rifkatu said.
She urged women to rally behind female candidates in the 2027 elections, even if they belong to different parties.
She also advised women to form alliances or coalitions in the 2027 elections to secure better representation in governance, citing the example of the opposition merger that led to their victory in the 2023 presidential election.
“Women should put aside party differences and support female candidates contesting against men in order to increase their chances of winning.
“In the INEC voters register, there are more women and youth than men, and hence, women can change their dominance in terms of leadership,” she said.
The INEC official said there is a bill before the National Assembly to reserve one senate seat for women in each state, advocating also for the reservation of at least three seats for women in state assemblies.
Another recommendation she made is for political parties to provide free nomination forms for women to encourage them to contest elections, citing the fact that INEC provides free forms.
Halima Mahdi, a women activist in Gombe State, re-echoed the sentiments, saying the lack of women delegates makes them unable to field parties’ tickets and advised the summit to change it in the North East by 2027 through mobilising women.
Earlier, the executive director of LEADTOTS Development Initiative, Nicholas Oshojah Afeso, emphasised that women’s leadership is essential for the region’s progress, stating that they have what it takes to lead.
According to him, the summit had representatives of INEC, members of IPAC, women political leaders from different parties, and women peer support networks across the North East participating.
He added that the event aimed to empower women to take on leadership roles and challenge patriarchal norms.
He said over the two-day event, participants would explore key topics, including breaking patriarchy, designing issue-based campaigns, and financing women’s political ambitions.
Afeso encouraged women to engage boldly and commit to the summit’s goals, making it a launchpad for a new movement that challenges old structures and builds new alliances.
