2027: Women Account For Just 9% Of 1,303 Senate Candidates — INEC
Women account for only 123 of the 1,303 candidates cleared by the Independent National Electoral Commission to contest the 109 senatorial seats across the country in the 2027 National Assembly elections.
The figure represents roughly nine per cent of the total number of candidates on INEC’s final list, which shows a significant gender imbalance in the race for the Senate.
The final list contains the names, political parties, ages, gender and qualifications of candidates drawn from 22 political parties across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
The document, signed by the Secretary to INEC, Rose Oriaran-Anthony, shows that men overwhelmingly dominate the contest, with 1,180 male candidates compared to 123 women.
Four states — Jigawa, Nasarawa, Niger and Yobe — have no female candidate across their respective senatorial districts.
Akwa Ibom recorded the highest number of female candidates with 10, followed by Rivers, Kwara and Osun with seven each. Anambra, Enugu and Bayelsa recorded six female candidates apiece.
The gender imbalance is also reflected in the distribution of candidates across political parties. The ruling All Progressives Congress, which fielded the highest overall number of candidates with 109, presented only four women.
The Action Peoples Party and African Action Congress also fielded four female candidates each, while the Action Democratic Party and Allied Peoples Movement recorded the highest number, with 11 women each.
On the other hand, the Peoples Redemption Party and Youth Party did not field any female candidate for the Senate election, according to the final list.
Among the female candidates is the incumbent Kogi Central senator, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan of the Peoples Democratic Party, who is seeking re-election against former Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello of the APC.
Also on the list is Nkechi Nwaogu, a former senator who is contesting the Abia Central senatorial seat on the platform of the Nigeria Democratic Congress.
The final list also confirms the participation of several prominent serving and former lawmakers, including Senate President Godswill Akpabio, Deputy Senate President Barau Jibrin, Senate Chief Whip Orji Uzor Kalu and former Senate President Ahmed Lawan.
Akpabio is contesting under the APC for the Akwa Ibom North-West senatorial seat he currently occupies. He is among 37 candidates listed for the district, including another candidate bearing the surname Akpabio, Patience Christopher Ibanga Akpabio of the African Democratic Congress.
Barau Jibrin is listed as the APC candidate for Kano North, while Kalu, a former governor of Abia State, is seeking another term in the Senate for Abia North under the same party.
Lawan, who served as Senate President between 2019 and 2023, is also contesting under the APC for Yobe North, the senatorial district he has represented since returning to the chamber.
Other notable names on the list include former Sokoto State Governor Aliyu Wamakko, who is contesting the Sokoto North seat on the APC platform.
Also contesting is Abdul Ahmed Ningi, a former senator who became prominent for his disclosures concerning alleged budget padding. He is seeking the Bauchi Central seat under the African Democratic Congress.
According to the final list, the senatorial candidates are aged between 35 and 84 years, with an average age of approximately 51.
The development comes as INEC intensifies preparations for the 2027 presidential and National Assembly elections, with political parties and their candidates expected to commence or intensify campaigns ahead of the polls.