…As FCT, Bayelsa, Edo: 8 States Yet To Elect Female Rep Since 1999
Lagos State will field 30 female candidates for the House of Representatives in the January 16, 2027 general election, being the highest among the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
This is contained in the final list of candidates for the Presidential and National Assembly election for January 2027 released by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
According to the list, Lagos, which has a total of 184 candidates, is followed by Imo State with 21 female candidates out of a total of 140, while Anambra and Rivers have 20 females each out of a total of 108 and 146 candidates, just as Akwa Ibom, Delta and Oyo have 17 candidates each from a total of 105, 116 and 151 candidates.
The rest are Benue and Kwara, with 16 females each out of 118 and 65 candidates, respectively; Osun, 15 females out of 81 candidates; Cross River, 14 females out of 63 candidates; Sokoto, 13 females out of 138 candidates; Enugu, 11 females out of 75 candidates, while Niger and Ogun have 10 female candidates each out of 92 and 95 candidates, respectively.
Kaduna State has 9 females out of 151 candidates; Abia and Ondo have 8 females each out of 92 and 91 candidates; while Bayelsa, Ebonyi and Plateau have 7 females out of 61, 65 and 86 candidates. Edo and Ekiti have 6 females each, Bauchi and FCT have 5 each out of 123 and 37 candidates, while Adamawa, Gombe and Kogi have 4 females each out of 95, 64 and 94 candidates.
While Jigawa and Kano states have 3 females each out of 85 and 251 candidates, Borno, Kebbi, Taraba and Yobe have two females each out of 72, 62 and 62 candidates. Katsina, Nasarawa and Zamfara have the least number of female candidates, featuring one each out of 104, 61 and 72 candidates respectively.
Meanwhile, data obtained from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS)Â shows that 11 states, including the FCT, have not produced a female member of the House of Representatives from 1999 to date.
The states are Bayelsa, Edo, Jigawa, Katsina, Kogi, Niger, Ogun, Sokoto, Taraba and Zamfara.
Similarly, in 1999, only 12 out of 360 House of Representatives seats were occupied by women nationwide. The number rose to 22 in 2003, 25 in 2007, and back to 22 after 2011. In 2015, 22 women were elected, 10 in 2019 and 16 in 2023.
Cumulatively, only 132 women have been elected to the House of Representatives out of 2,520 members since 1999.
