Nigeria

Political parties that do not have structures on the ground should not present women as candidates during elections, the Independent National Electoral Commission warned on Tuesday.

The commission said that being a candidate should not be the only factor that should be taken into consideration but also a strong support base.

Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom has said that Nigeria currently ranked 181 out of 193 countries polled in terms women’s participation in politics.

Dr Joy Onyesoh, Country Director, WILPF Nigeria, said this on Thursday in Abuja.

When the Ninth Senate of Nigeria is inaugurated in June, there will be at least no fewer than seven women in the 109-member chamber, if the results of the February 23 Presidential and National Assembly elections are anything to go.

So far, seven women have been declared winners of senatorial contests across the country. They were among 22 female vice presidential candidates, 232 female senatorial and 532 female House Representatives standard bearers, who contested the elections.

Nervous ahead of Nigeria's delayed election, a group of young women picked up their cellphones and wished each other well.

"Honestly I'm so tensed and scared," one typed. "I feel like crying. This is so touching," another wrote. "What we are about to do is the beginning of an era," texted a third.

As she made her way along a lumpy dirt road clutching a stack of her own campaign flyers, Zainab Umar considered the odds against her.

In the run-up to Nigeria’s general election, starting this Saturday, more and more organisations are trying to turn the tide and get more women into elective positions.

Lois Auta’s foray into Nigeria’s male-dominated political space was, for her, a necessity.

When Bolanle Aliyu decided to run for governor of Oyo State in southwestern Nigeria, even her husband was initially reluctant to support her.

The status of women’s political participation in Nigeria is low, with less than 5 per cent of women holding political positions. Lois Auta, 38-year-old polio survivor from Abuja, is all about changing the status quo. Auta is a candidate in the upcoming elections for the House of Representatives and received capacity-building training from UN Women.

Ahead of Nigeria’s presidential elections on 16 February, UN Women and partners have been training women candidates, documenting political violence and advocating for measures to boost women’s low representation in Parliament.