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By Justina Auta
Stakeholders at the 30th anniversary summit of the League of Women Voters of Nigeria (NILOWV) have called for concrete action beyond promises to increase women’s political participation ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The stakeholders, including political parties, civil society organisations and development partners, emphasised the need for reforms, resources and stronger collaboration to remove barriers limiting women’s access to political leadership.
Dr Yusuf Dantalle, National Chairman of the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC), said women’s inclusion in politics was not a favour but a democratic necessity.
“Women’s participation is not a favour to be granted by party leaders. It is a democratic imperative and a matter of fairness, institutional quality and inclusive development,” he said.
Dantalle, represented by Prince Chinedu Obi, National Chairman of the National Rescue Movement (NRM), said political parties remained critical gatekeepers in determining candidates, campaign financing and whose priorities featured in party manifestos.
He urged parties to reform their internal structures to provide women with meaningful opportunities in leadership, decision-making committees and candidate selection processes.
“Improving women’s representation requires more than encouraging women to contest. It requires political parties to reform the rules, incentives and practices that determine access to political power,” he said.
The IPAC chairman proposed a Women’s Political Inclusion Compact involving political parties, candidates, women’s groups and civil society organisations to establish measurable commitments.
He said the compact would promote transparent party processes, support for women candidates, protection against political violence, voter education and public accountability.
Dantalle added that women’s participation should extend beyond elections, urging institutions to ensure women contributed to policy development, implementation and evaluation.
He also called for gender-responsive budgeting, saying public spending should reflect the needs and priorities of different communities.
The founder and Chairperson of NILOWV’s Board of Trustees, Dr Esther Uduehi, said the organisation’s 30-year journey showed that women needed more than voting rights.
“When we started in 1996, we knew that women needed more than the opportunity to vote. We needed women to understand their power, speak up for their rights, contest elections and sit at the tables where decisions are made,” she said.
Uduehi said that in spite of progress, women continued to face barriers, including high campaign costs, unequal access to political networks, intimidation and discriminatory practices.
“The question is no longer whether Nigerian women are capable of leading.
The question is whether we, as a nation, are ready to give them the fair opportunity, support and space they deserve,” she said.
She appealed to political parties, government institutions, development partners and civil society organisations to build practical partnerships for women’s political inclusion.
“We need a coalition that brings together money, technical capacity and political will,” Uduehi said.
She urged political parties to ensure women participated in decision-making processes rather than being remembered only during campaigns.
“Let women be part of making the decisions, not merely part of implementing decisions made by others,” she said.
Mrs Ebere Ifendu, President of the Women in Politics Forum (WIPF), called for a strategic roadmap to increase women’s political participation through legislative reforms, capacity building and electoral monitoring.
Ifendu advocated the passage of the Special Seats Bill for women, while urging political parties to field women in winnable constituencies where they enjoyed community support.
Patience Ekeoba, Acting Deputy Country Representative of UN Women, called for stronger collaboration among stakeholders to achieve meaningful progress in women’s political participation.
She said partners needed to work together under a common agenda rather than pursue fragmented interventions.
“We can all work together collaboratively to make sure that the messaging is the same, that we can do better for Nigeria,” Ekeoba said.
She emphasised the need for a coordinated investment framework to support women in politics, noting that resources were often scattered across different interventions.
“We must establish a coordinated investment framework to support women in politics,” she said.
Ekeoba also called for sustained mentorship, leadership development, campaign support and protection for women against political violence.
She said no single organisation could address the challenges facing women’s political participation alone.
“No single organisation will be able to deal with the magnitude of challenges that we’re seeing around women’s political participation. We need to work together,” she said.
The NILOWV summit, themed “Thirty Years Strong: Empowering Women’s Voice, Leadership and Democratic Participation—Celebrating the Past, Shaping the Future,” brought together political leaders, policymakers, civil society organisations and development partners.(NAN)
Edited by Abiemwense Moru
English (US) ·