…as Nkoyo Toyo states that women’s political inclusion in Nigeria has remained a decades-long struggle requiring stronger commitment and reforms
By Nkechi Eze
Women leaders and advocates for greater political inclusion have renewed calls for affirmative action and structural reforms to improve women’s representation in Nigeria’s governance architecture, declaring that the struggle for gender equity in leadership positions has been ongoing for more than three decades.
The renewed advocacy came during a courtesy visit by members of the Women Collective Hub, led by Ambassador Nkoyo Toyo, to Senator Seriake Dickson, where stakeholders engaged on strategies for expanding women’s participation in politics and decision-making processes.
Speaking during the engagement, Toyo stressed that the agitation for women’s political inclusion did not begin recently but dates back several decades of sustained advocacy, policy engagement and constitutional reform efforts.
“For over 30 years Nigerian women have fought for inclusion, this struggle is not new,” she said. “The advocacy for women’s political participation has been going on since the 1990s. We have been part of constitutional engagements, political reforms and several national conversations to ensure that women have access to leadership positions.”
She recalled that women’s rights groups had been involved in multiple constitutional review processes aimed at securing guaranteed access to positions in government, noting however that many of the reforms did not fully meet the expectations of women’s groups.
According to her, the push for gender inclusion has consistently faced setbacks despite years of advocacy, institutional engagement and political negotiations.
“We have been part of constitutional processes, engagement with political leaders and civil society advocacy, yet the outcomes have not reflected the expectations of Nigerian women,” she said. “The ideology may exist in party documents, but the political practice is often far behind.”
Toyo explained that women’s organisations have repeatedly pushed for mechanisms such as affirmative action and reserved seats in legislative bodies in order to correct what she described as a deeply entrenched imbalance in political representation.
She also expressed concern over Nigeria’s low level of female representation in public offices compared with other countries, describing the situation as both disappointing and embarrassing.
“When we travel around the world, we see countries with far higher female representation in parliament, yet Nigeria with so many accomplished and capable women still struggles with less than four percent representation in the National Assembly,” she said. “It raises a serious question: how can a country that produces brilliant women leaders fail to translate that capacity into political power?”
Toyo therefore urged political leaders and institutions to support ongoing advocacy for special legislative seats for women and stronger commitments by political parties to open their structures to female leadership.
Also speaking during the meeting, the National Women Leader of the Nigeria Democratic Dudu Manuga Congress (NDC) reaffirmed the party’s commitment to affirmative action and inclusive leadership, noting that the party had already adopted policies aimed at expanding opportunities for women.
According to her, the party intends to remove structural barriers that often discourage women from contesting elections while also promoting training, empowerment and political mentoring initiatives.
“Our party believes Nigerian women should have the opportunity to become everything they were born to be,” she said. “We are removing barriers that discourage women from aspiring to political offices and ensuring that our internal processes are transparent and inclusive.”
She explained that the NDC is working to create a political environment where women can contest and emerge as candidates across different levels of governance, from councillorship and local government leadership to governorship and presidential positions.
“In this party, we want to see women contest for every office. We want to see women emerge as candidates for governorship, legislative seats and even the presidency,” she added.
Responding to the delegation, Senator Dickson welcomed the advocacy group and commended Toyo for her decades-long commitment to advancing women’s rights and leadership.
“I have known Madam Nkoyo for several years and for decades she has been advocating for these issues,” he said. “Women’s inclusion is not just a women’s issue, it is a human issue.”
Dickson acknowledged that Nigeria’s low female representation in governance remains a serious challenge and described the country’s statistics as unacceptable.
“The level of women’s representation in Nigeria is shameful. In every state and every community you will find capable and qualified women, yet the political system has not created enough opportunities for them,” he said.
The senator expressed support for legislative initiatives aimed at improving women’s political participation, including proposals for reserved seats and other forms of affirmative action.
“There is nothing that will help improve the status of women that comes my way that I will not support,” he said. “Affirmative action and the proposed reserved seats are important steps. They may not solve all the problems immediately, but they are necessary to move us forward.”
Dickson also encouraged women’s organisations to remain actively engaged with lawmakers and political institutions to ensure that gender inclusion reforms receive legislative backing.
“We must create mechanisms that address economic and social barriers affecting women in politics,” he added. “When the constitutional framework for affirmative action is established, we can then work out the details to ensure women have a strong voice at the table.”
Adding her voice, the Project Coordinator of Women Collective Hub and Director of IRIAD–The Electoral Hub, Princess Hamman-Obels, noted that the visit was motivated by the organisation’s interest in encouraging political parties to integrate women into their leadership structures and electoral processes.
She urged the party leadership to convene broader consultations involving civil society organisations and women’s groups to develop practical strategies for advancing female representation.
“We discovered that your party is committed to having women in positions of leadership and that is why we are here,” she said. “It is important for the party to bring together diverse groups of women, from civil society and other organisations to strengthen this commitment.”
The engagement formed part of ongoing national advocacy efforts by women’s organisations seeking stronger political commitments, legislative reforms and institutional mechanisms that will expand opportunities for Nigerian women in governance and leadership.
