A senior aide to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has attributed the continued underrepresentation of women in Nigerian politics to entrenched systemic and cultural barriers, rather than a lack of competence or ambition among women themselves.
Speaking at a policy dialogue in Abuja over the weekend, Dr. Betta Edu, Special Adviser to the President on Social Affairs and Gender Equity, highlighted the persistent exclusion of women from Nigeria’s political landscape. She pointed to institutional challenges, party structures, and sociocultural norms as key reasons behind the gender imbalance in political leadership.
“Nigerian politics remains male-dominated not because our women are not capable, but because the system was never designed to accommodate them,” Edu said. “From party primaries to campaign financing and even media narratives, there are deeply embedded hurdles that discourage or outright block women from climbing the political ladder.”
Edu emphasized that despite the country’s democratic advances, women still face structural disadvantages such as lack of political mentorship, violence during elections, and financial exclusion. She also noted that cultural expectations about women’s roles in society continue to limit their participation in leadership.
Nigeria currently ranks among the lowest in Africa in terms of female representation in parliament, with women holding less than 7% of elective positions at both national and state levels.
The Presidential aide called for urgent reforms, including political party quotas, gender-sensitive electoral policies, and increased civic education to change the narrative.
“Until we redesign the framework to be more inclusive, we will continue to shut out over half of our population from governance and decision-making,” she warned.
Advocates have long called on the Nigerian government to implement the Gender and Equal Opportunities Bill, which seeks to address discrimination and provide a legal framework for gender equity. However, the bill has faced repeated opposition in the National Assembly.
Edu’s remarks reignite the conversation about how far Nigeria still needs to go in achieving true gender parity in politics—and whether the current administration is prepared to lead that change.
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