Osun NAWOJ Advocates for Women's Electoral Inclusion

The Osun State chapter of the Nigeria Association of Women Journalists (NAWOJ), led by Chairperson Abisola Ariwodola and Secretary Oluwaranti Ojewumi, has called on political parties to ensure greater inclusion of women in electoral positions as Nigeria approaches the 2027 general elections. In a statement, NAWOJ observed a low representation of women in recent party primaries, particularly noting that the All Progressives Congress (APC) concluded its primaries with few female candidates emerging for federal legislative positions.

The association emphasized the need for political parties to adopt measures such as partial waivers for nomination fees for female aspirants and reserving slots for women during primaries. NAWOJ pointed out that women currently occupy less than five percent of the seats in the National Assembly, placing Nigeria among countries with low female parliamentary representation in Africa.

They urged political parties to demonstrate commitment to increasing the number of women candidates and to involve women’s groups in the candidate selection process.