Female politicians have attributed the increased participation of women in politics to the years of advocacy and sensitisation campaigns.
The women who expressed satisfaction with the turnout of women at the just-concluded political parties’ congresses in Cross River State, south-south Nigeria, said that the development was unlike previous election cycles.
Speaking with Voice of Nigeria, the Special Adviser on Inter-Party Affairs, Nkoyo Otu, described the turnout as encouraging and a positive sign for women’s political inclusion.
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She attributed the growing interest in elective politics to sustained awareness campaigns by women’s groups, civil society organisations and stakeholders, who have contributed to advocating greater participation in governance and decision-making.
According to Otu, the push for the Special Seat Bill and other affirmative action initiatives enabled the creation of awareness on the need for women to be adequately represented in political offices.
The Special Adviser also credited the advocacy efforts of Nigeria’s First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu and the wife of the Cross River State governor, Bishop Eyoanwan Otu, for encouraging more women to participate actively in politics.
She said, “There are a lot of women across the various political parties who came out to contest for different offices. This shows that the 2027 election will be very interesting.
As an advocate, I try to encourage women to run for politics and the turnout for party primaries showed that my job yielded positive results. In APC alone, we eight women vying for legislative offices.
“The development is the same in other political parties within the state. We are hopeful that more women will be elected into the National Assembly and the State Houses of Assemblies in Nigeria due to the efforts of the First Lady, Senator Tinubu and the wife of the governor, Bishop Eyoanwan Otu,” she noted
unprecedented development.
Also speaking, a frontline grassroots politician and former chairman of Calabar South Local Government Area, Mrs. Majorie Asuquo, described the number of female aspirants at the just concluded party primaries in Cross River as impressive, stressing that the development was unprecedented.
Asuquo said, “The number of women seeking public office reflects a growing political consciousness and demonstrates our readiness to contribute to active governance. I am a candidate of the All Progressives Congress for Calabar South Constituency 2. I can assure you that the 2027 election will witness greater success for female candidates, particularly in legislative contests.”
Continuing, she acknowledged the efforts of the governor of Cross River State, Senator Bassey Otu and his wife, Eyoanwan, saying, “I am happy for our state. The governor is a true man of the people. His mantra is People First and women are part of the people. True to it, women are having it good; it is a friendly government.”
They maintained that greater female representation in governance would contribute to more inclusive policymaking and strengthen democratic development in the state and country.
