As the 2027 general elections approaches and the campaign officially kicks off in Nigeria, the big elephant question in the room filled with Nigerian women from the grassroots to the top remains who will go for us?
Who will multiply the seating numbers of only four women to a matchup ratio with the 105 male senators in the 10th Assembly in 2027 and make the difference that can only be clear in more numbers than mere four.
Since the inauguration of Nigeria’s 10th National Assembly in June 2023, female legislators have continued to make their mark in a political environment long dominated by men, advocating inclusivity, development and social justice. Yet, their presence in the federal legislature remains low.
Women occupy only four of the 109 seats in the Senate and 16 of the 360 seats in the House of Representatives. That puts female representation in the 469-member National Assembly at about 4.3 per cent.
The four women in the Senate are Ireti Heebah Kingibe, representing the Federal Capital Territory (FCT); Ipalibo Banigo, representing Rivers West; Idiat Oluranti Adebule, representing Lagos West; and Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, representing Kogi Central.
Their backgrounds cut across engineering, medicine, education, public administration, law and business.
Thus, as the 2027 general elections momentum fully peaks, their political fortunes have also begun to take different turns. Three have secured party tickets to seek another term, while Banigo’s return bid has been thrown into uncertainty after she was disqualified from the APC senatorial primary in Rivers.
Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan
The resilient and fearless Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan is a lawyer, entrepreneur and politician representing Kogi Central in the Senate known for her bold advocacy for industrial revival.
The first elected female Senator in Kogi State who has made a name for herself in Nigeria’s political landscape was born on December 9, 1979 in Ilorin, Kwara State, Nigeria by a Nigerian father, Dr. Jimoh Abdul Akpoti, and a Ukrainian mother, Ludmila Kravchenko.
She studied Law at the University of Abuja and was called to the Nigerian Bar in 2005. She later obtained a postgraduate degree and an MBA in Oil and Gas Management from the University of Dundee, Scotland.
Before becoming a senator, Akpoti-Uduaghan was involved in business and politics. She contested the Kogi State governorship election in 2019 on the platform of the Social Democratic Party.
She won the Kogi Central senatorial election in 2023 after a legal battle over the result, becoming the first elected female senator from Kogi State.
Her time in the Senate has been marked by controversy between her and the Senate President Godswill Akpabio. The episode generated debate over the treatment of women in politics and the position of female lawmakers within political institutions.
Akpoti-Uduaghan has remained politically active and is seeking another term. She was affirmed as the PDP candidate for Kogi Central at the party’s senatorial primary and subsequently received her Certificate of Return.
Her 2027 contest is expected to be closely watched, particularly with former Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello seeking the APC ticket for the same senatorial district.
Senator Ireti Kingibe
Ireti Kingibe, the veteran in the FCT who is known for her zero tolerance for violence against women and champions women’s rights, was elected to represent the FCT in the Senate in 2023 on the platform of the Labour Party (LP).
She was born on June 2, 1954, and raised in a culturally diverse home to a Yoruba-Fulani Muslim father and a Delta Ibo-Bonny Christian mother. She studied Civil Engineering at the University of Minnesota, United States. She had earlier attended Queen’s College, Lagos, and Washington Irving High School in the United States.
Kingibe first contested the FCT senatorial election in 2003 under the defunct All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP). She later joined the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC) before returning to the electoral contest on the LP platform in 2023.
She has also worked in public service and diplomacy and served as Nigeria’s ambassador to Switzerland and Liechtenstein.
Kingibe, who is the younger sister of Ajoke Mohammed, wife of former Head of State, the late General Murtala Mohammed, has remained active on issues concerning the FCT and women’s participation in politics. She currently chairs the Senate Committee on Women Affairs.
Ahead of the 2027 election, she defected from the LP to the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and secured the party’s ticket for the FCT Senate seat, polling 17,535 votes at the primary held in May. Her victory has, however, been challenged in court by another aspirant.
Senator Ipalibo Banigo
Senator Banigo’s commitment to quality representation, women empowerment, policy advocacy and impactful bills earned her a place in the 10th Senate.
The Nigerian medical doctor and politician representing Rivers West and currently serving her first term in the senate after being elected to represent the Rivers West Senatorial District in 2023 on the PDP platform.
Banigo obtained her MBBS from the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, and later earned a Master’s degree from the Harvard University School of Public Health. She also obtained diplomas in Tropical Hygiene and Dermatology from the University of London.
She worked in the Rivers State Ministry of Health, where she held several positions, including Director of Public Health Services, Acting Commissioner and Permanent Secretary. She later served as Secretary to the Rivers State Government and was the first female Deputy Governor of Rivers State from 2015 to 2023 under former Governor Nyesom Wike.
Banigo’s political future changed after she defected from the PDP to the APC in March 2026. The move was linked to her support for President Bola Tinubu’s re-election and the political realignment in Rivers State.
However, the defection did not secure her a place on the APC ballot. The party disqualified her from participating in its Rivers West senatorial primary, a decision she rejected and protested.
With Felix Obuah emerging from the APC process, Banigo currently has no APC ticket for the 2027 election. Unless she secures another platform, her time in the senate will end with the 10th Assembly.
Senator Idiat Adebule
From Lagos politics to the Senate, Idiat Oluranti Adebule represents Lagos West in the Senate on the platform of the APC.
Before her election to the Senate, Adebule served as Deputy Governor of Lagos State from 2015 to 2019 under former Governor Akinwunmi Ambode. She did not serve as deputy governor until 2023, as earlier stated.
The educationist, Adebule holds a doctorate degree in Curriculum Studies from Lagos State University. She began her career as a lecturer at the Michael Otedola College of Primary Education and Lagos State University.
She later served in the Lagos State Post Primary Teaching Service Commission, now the Teachers’ Establishment and Pensions Office. She was also appointed Secretary to the Lagos State Government in 2011 before becoming deputy governor.
Adebule was elected to the Senate in 2023 and has since combined legislative work with constituency interventions.
Ahead of the 2027 election, she has secured the APC ticket to retain the Lagos West senatorial seat. She emerged as the party’s candidate through an affirmation process after being the sole aspirant at the primary.
She will therefore return to the field in 2027 to defend the seat she won four years earlier.
More Women Underway For 2027 Senatorial Seat
The four women currently in the Senate are not the only women seeking seats in the Red Chamber ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Nkechi Nwaogu
Former two-term Abia Central senator, Nkechi Nwaogu, announced her return to the political contest after obtaining nomination and expression-of-interest forms. However, she later moved away from the APC to the Nigeria Democratic congress (NDC) to run for the Abia Central Senatorial seat in the 2027 elections.
First Lady Eunice Ortom
In Benue, former First Lady Eunice Ortom has emerged as the PDP’s candidate for Benue North-West after party stakeholders backed her candidacy.
Ngozi Kene-Chiedu
In Anambra, Ngozi Kene-Chiedu emerged as the APC candidate for Anambra Central ahead of the 2027 general election. The state party later ratified the emergence of its senatorial candidates.
Muheeba Dankaka
Dankaka is also a potential candidate seeking the APC ticket for Kwara South and received the backing of party stakeholders.
The Ratio
The number of women seeking senatorial seats remains small compared to the number of men in the race.
Civil society groups monitoring the 2027 primaries have consequently raised concerns about the continued low representation of women in elective positions.
However, for Kingibe, Adebule and Akpoti-Uduaghan, the 2027 election will determine whether they retain their seats. While for Banigo, where she stands is a question of whether she can find another route back to the ballot.
Beyond the individual contests, the bigger issue remains women’s place in Nigerian politics. With only four women currently in a Senate of 109 members, the 2027 elections will show whether more women will get the opportunity to enter the Red Chamber.
For women seeking elective office, however, winning at the polls is only part of the struggle. Getting a party ticket and having the support to compete on equal terms remain major hurdles. The outcome of the 2027 elections will therefore be another measure of how much space Nigeria’s political system is willing to give women as lawmakers and decision-makers.
However, it is safe to say that the Nigerian women all around the world are keeping crossed fingers in anticipation that the numbers of female representation in the Red Chamber will multiply come 2027.
