2027: Wike-led PDP, NRM seek more political roles for women

File Photo: FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike

The Wike-led faction of the Peoples Democratic Party and the National Rescue Movement have called for increased participation of women in politics and their inclusion in leadership and decision-making positions ahead of the 2027 general elections.

The parties made the call at the NRM National Women Summit held in Abuja on Thursday, where they urged political leaders to move beyond recognising women during election campaigns to giving them opportunities to contest elections and occupy strategic positions.

Representing the National Chairman of the Wike-led PDP, Abdulrahman Mohammed, a member of the party’s Board of Trustees, Dr Helen Adebakin, urged women to demand greater representation in parliament and other political leadership positions.

She said women had demonstrated their capacity as mobilisers, strategists, organisers and leaders but were often sidelined when opportunities for political leadership and decision-making arose.

“Yet, too often their contributions are celebrated during campaigns, but their voices are diminished when the opportunity for leadership and decision-making arrives. This contradiction must end,” she said.

Adebakin described women’s representation in parliament as a democratic imperative and development necessity, stressing that political parties must provide genuine opportunities for women to contest elections and influence public policies.

She said achieving meaningful political inclusion required deliberate policies, institutional commitment, financial support, mentorship and the removal of barriers limiting women’s advancement.

“Women deserve more than ceremonial opportunities. They deserve meaningful opportunities to contest elections, occupy strategic leadership positions, influence public policies, and participate directly in determining the direction of our nation,” she added.

The NRM National Chairman, Chinedu Obi, said his party was committed to promoting women’s participation, noting that it had deliberately allocated some strategic positions to women.

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Obi said the party had given its organising secretary position to a woman, describing the decision as evidence of its commitment to gender inclusion.

“In NRM, all the he’s in NRM are for she’s. That is why NRM is the only party in Nigeria today that has one of the most struggled-for positions, which is the organising secretary. It’s only NRM that carried the position of organising secretary and gave it to a woman,” he said.

He disclosed that the party had also selected a female presidential aspirant as its flag bearer after considering three qualified aspirants.

“When we got to that three, the three of them were all qualified, but we looked at them and we said, this woman would carry our flag. And we became the first political party that carried our flag and gave it to a woman,” Obi stated.

He said women and youths remained critical to electoral success, arguing that political parties could not win elections without their participation.

“If there’s no women, there won’t be any elections,” he said, urging women to strengthen the party’s structures across the states and mobilise support ahead of 2027.

The NRM chairman also called on women to use their voting strength to influence political leadership, citing poverty, insecurity and economic hardship as reasons Nigerians needed a change in government.

Women remain underrepresented in Nigeria’s political leadership despite their significant contributions to electioneering, party mobilisation and grassroots political activities.

Ahead of the 2027 general elections, calls have intensified for political parties to adopt deliberate measures to promote women’s participation and ensure their inclusion in decision-making