Women Need Adequate Representation, League Tells Parties

The League of Women Voters of Nigeria (NILOWV) has called for greater political representation of women ahead of the 2027 general elections, saying Nigerian women have waited long enough to occupy decision-making positions.

The group’s president, Irene Awunah-Ikyegh, made the demand in a statement marking the 2026 International Day of Democracy, themed, “Democracy Must Include Every Voice: A Pre-2027 Assessment of Women’s Political

Participation, Representation and the Urgent Need for Issues-Based Campaigns.”

Awunah-Ikyegh said the commemoration should go beyond speeches and ceremonies to examine whether Nigeria’s democracy was genuinely inclusive.

It said the approach of the 2027 elections provided an opportunity to assess women’s participation, the preparedness of political parties and the credibility of the electoral process.

‘We cannot keep telling women to wait’.
The group said there was a point at which repeated calls for women to wait became another form of exclusion.

“There comes a point when ‘wait’ becomes another word for exclusion,” it said.

The President said women should no longer be asked to wait for the political environment, parties, culture or funding to improve before seeking leadership positions.

“Nigerian women have waited long enough,” she declared.

The organisation backed the Special Seats Bill, describing it as an opportunity to create a pathway for increased female representation while broader political reforms continued.

“It is not a substitute for equality. It is an instrument for correcting an entrenched imbalance,” Awunah-Ikyegh said.

The organisation also charged the Independent National Electoral Commission to improve communication and engagement with citizens and civil society organisations ahead of the 2027 elections.

It said voters deserved timely information on voter registration, accreditation, election technology, logistics, polling units, accessibility, results management and election security.

“Trust is earned through consistent transparency,” she said.

She also urged INEC to ensure that persons with disabilities were not excluded from the electoral process.

“An inclusive democracy must have an inclusive electoral process,” Awunah-Ikyegh said.

The president called on the National Assembly to seize the opportunity presented by the Special Seats Bill to address the persistent underrepresentation of women in politics.

“History is watching,” she told senators and members of the House of Representatives.

She said lawmakers had the opportunity to leave a lasting democratic legacy by strengthening women’s participation in governance.

“The question is not whether Nigerian women are asking for too much,” she said.

“The question is whether Nigeria can continue to claim that it is committed to inclusive democracy while women remain so dramatically underrepresented.”

Awunah-Ikyegh urged political parties to undertake serious internal reforms and stop treating women mainly as voters and campaign mobilisers.

It demanded genuine opportunities for women to lead, shape policies and secure party tickets.

The group also called on parties to provide safe political environments and take violence and online harassment against female politicians seriously.

“A political party cannot claim to represent the people while systematically excluding half of those people from leadership,” it said.