Despite clamours for improvement in women participation in public life across the world, Nigeria appears to be moving in the wrong direction.
From 1999 till date, only 157 women have been elected into the 469-member National Assembly (38 senators and 119 members of the House of Representatives), compared to 2,657 men (616 senators, 2,041 reps) during the same period.
The results of the 25 February presidential and National Assembly elections have further exposed Nigeria’s failure to implement several treaties and statutes it signed, which are aimed at ensuring women’s involvement in politics.
Of the 92 women who contested for the Senate in the February elections, only three won, while out of the 286 who contested for seats in the House of Representatives, only 15 have been declared winners.
Mercy Abang, the CEO of Host Writer, said the low number of women in elective and appointive positions in Nigeria is directly proportional to the level of development.
