Women have never reached 12% of Nigeria’s presidential candidates since 1999

Key Takeaways

Women account for just 7.4% of Nigeria’s 190 presidential candidacies from 1999 to 2027, with 14 female candidacies.
Female candidacies peaked at 6 in 2019, after none in 1999.
In 2027, 2 of 18 presidential candidates are women, the highest recorded share at 11.1%.
Women have never exceeded 11.1% of Nigeria’s presidential candidate field since 1999.

Women have never accounted for more than 11.1% of Nigeria's presidential candidate field since 1999.

Across the presidential candidate fields from 1999 through the 2027 final list, there have been 190 candidacies, including 14 by women. Women therefore account for 7.4% of all presidential candidacies, with an average of 1.8 female candidacies per election.

The number of female candidacies has fluctuated from 0 in 1999 to a high of 6 in 2019. In the 2027 final list, 2 of the 18 presidential candidates are women, giving the highest female share recorded in the period at 11.1%.

The two women in the 2027 presidential race are Ada Elizabeth Fredrick Okwori of the National Democratic Party (NDP) and Nkem Esther Okereke of the National Rescue Movement (NRM).

Figures count candidacies (appearances in each year's presidential candidate field), rather than unique individuals.

Source:

INEC; media sources

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Period:

1999-2027

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