Six months into her tenure as Lagos State All Progressive Congress (APC) Women Leader, Alhaja Rofiat Iyabosola Eletu says her focus has been on getting more women involved in politics, strengthening grassroots structures and ensuring women have a greater voice in governance.

Eletu, who assumed office on March 3, 2026, said women could no longer afford to remain on the sidelines of political participation. “Our party has been encouraging women to participate fully in politics. Nobody should be left out. Everybody must participate.

Women, men, young people and anyone who has attained the voting age,” she said.

She pointed to the assistant woman leader of the APC and deputy governorship candidate in Lagos State, Princess Damilola Sonayan James, as an example of what she believes women can achieve when given political opportunities.

Eletu said James, who is her assistant, was elected alongside her on March 3 before being selected as the running mate to Dr Kadri Obafemi Hamzat. “If Damilola can become an incoming deputy governor, there is nobody who should be denied the opportunity. It could be any woman, young or old,” she said.

Since taking office, Eletu said she has undertaken activities aimed at strengthening the party’s women structure.

In April, she led a delegation of women on a familiarisation visit to the office of the Lagos State First Lady. She also participated in an environmental sanitation programme and later visited the Lagos State Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) to raise concerns about refuse heaps in some parts of the state.

According to her, some of the locations she highlighted were subsequently cleared.

Eletu also travelled to Abuja in June for a meeting with First Lady Senator Oluremi Tinubu and other women leaders from across the country. On her return, she began sensitisation campaigns on Permanent Voter Cards, encouraging residents to register, collect their PVCs and transfer their voting locations where necessary.

At the grassroots, she said her office has also worked to improve relations between local government women leaders and council chairmen’s wives. She organised a meeting to bring the groups together, saying disagreements between them could weaken party structures.

Beyond party activities, Eletu said she wants women to become more economically and educationally empowered. She cited the example of a woman who received ₦20,000 to start a pure-water business. According to Eletu, the woman expanded the business and eventually created work for four other women.

“Someone has to start from somewhere,” she said. “Even if you are given ₦50,000, if you have your brain and you invest it, you can begin to move forward.”

According to the Women Leader, education remains another important part of women’s political advancement. She recalled returning to university and completing her degree at 49, saying her experience taught her that there was no age limit to education.

She also identified money, cultural attitudes and women’s lack of support for one another as barriers to political participation. “If we see any woman coming out for a post, we should support that person. We should not try to antagonise her. It should be woman for woman,” she said.

Eletu said her immediate goal is to continue taking the party’s women structure to communities, including riverine areas, while encouraging more women to participate in politics and make their voices heard.