Women Make Up 9.7% of Nigeria's National Assembly Candidates

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has released its final list of candidates for the upcoming elections, revealing that women account for 9.7% of the candidates contesting the National Assembly elections and 11.1% of presidential candidates. Specifically, there are 469 women among the 4,863 candidates for the Senate and House of Representatives elections.

The Senate has the lowest female representation, with only 123 women out of 1,303 candidates, equating to 9.4%. In the House of Representatives, there are 346 female candidates out of 3,560, representing 9.7%.

The presidential list, signed by INEC Secretary Rose Oriaran-Anthony, includes 18 candidates, of which 16 are men and only two are women: Ada Elizabeth Frederick Okwori of the National Democratic Party and Nkem Esther Okereke of the National Rescue Movement. Additionally, there are 14 male and four female vice-presidential candidates, leading to a total of 30 men and six women among the presidential and vice-presidential candidates, which means women make up 16.7% of the 36 individuals contesting these positions.