By Ahmed Akanbi

Only 25 women are contesting governorship elections in 15 states, while no female candidates are listed in the other 13 states holding elections on February 6, 2027.

The final list of candidates published by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Saturday, October 10, showed that 21 of the 22 registered political parties are sponsoring 119 women among 936 governorship and deputy governorship candidates across 28 states.

The parties are also fielding about 1,016 female candidates for state Houses of Assembly seats out of the 10,020 candidates listed by INEC.

The Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) candidate in Adamawa State, Senator Aishatu Dahiru Binani, is among the women contesting governorship positions in the forthcoming elections.

Governorship and state assembly elections are not scheduled for eight states on February 6, 2027.

The figures show how many women political parties have nominated for the forthcoming governorship and legislative elections.

For the position of Deputy Governors, the political parties are fielding about 94 women across 26 states, with no female candidate for either the governorship or deputy governor in Jigawa and Katsina states.

States with female governorship candidates include Akwa Ibom (5 candidates), Ebonyi (3 women), Cross River, Adamawa, Delta, and Lagos (two women each), while Plateau, Abia, Bauchi, Benue, Kaduna, Kano, Kwara, Ogun, and Rivers have one female candidate each.

Ogun State leads with 10 women among deputy governorship candidates, followed by Plateau and Lagos with 9 women, Akwa Ibom with 8, Rivers with 6, Oyo, Kaduna, and Enugu with 5 women, Abia, Adamawa, Ebonyi, and Taraba with 4 women each, Niger and Delta with 3 women, Gombe, Kebbi, Sokoto and Zamfara with 2 women each, while Bauchi, Benue, Borno, Kano, Kwara, Nasarawa and Yobe all have one woman each.

The female governorship candidates are Doris Uzumma Umezurike (AAC, Abia), Chigbe Chioma Vivian -NRM and Joelyne Ita Hogan Bassey – ADP (Cross River); Bingel Hurung Philomina- ADP (Plateau); Aishatu Dahiru Binani-NDC and Samuel Faith Monday-NRM (Adamawa); Achibong Inimbom Nsikak-ADP, Jimmy Stella Monday-APGA, Emem Umoh-APP, Effiong Asuomo Rosemary-SDP and Umo Blessing Okon-ZLP (Akwa Ibom) and Babageidam Lami- ZLP (Bauchi).

The others are Ujah Mercy Engole-APP (Benue); Mohammed Jemila-YPP (Kaduna); Ahmed Furera-BP (Kano); Jayeola Monturayo-APM (Kwara); Adeyemi Abiola-APP and Peter Helen Ojoyule-ZLP (Lagos), Layi Labode Halima-APP (Ogun); West Ivy-AAC (Rivers); James Esther-LP and Iyovwaye Chris-NDC (Delta); Nwodum Lucy Chinwe-APGA, Nwankwo Martha Ebere-APP and Nwinyinya Juliet-ZLP (Ebonyi).

Political parties participating in the State Houses of Assembly election are sponsoring only 1,016 candidates. Rivers has the highest number of female candidates, with 70 of 432 contesting the elections, followed by Kwara with 57 of 264, Osun with 56 of 263, Imo with 54 of 364 and Delta with 51 of 344 candidates.

Jigawa and Yobe have the fewest female candidates, with three each out of 213 and 234 candidates, respectively, followed by Katsina with 5 of 293 and Borno with 6 of 218, according to INEC.

Zamfara has 8 female candidates out of 249, Kebbi has 9 out of 167, and Nasarawa and Adamawa have 12 and 13 out of 316 and 283, respectively, on the INEC list.

Other states and the number of female candidates include Abia (37 out of 321), Akwa Ibom (50 out of 255), Anambra (26 out of 245), Bauchi (22 of 367), Bayelsa (29 out of 261), Benue (34 out of 422), Cross River (23 out of 145); Ebonyi (29 out of 238), Edo (16 out of 164), Ekiti (37 out of 175), Enugu (27 out of 191) and Gombe (17 out of 257).