2027 Senate Race: 123 Women Take on 1,180 Men for 109 Seats

By Al-Amin Ciroma

No fewer than 123 women are among the 1,303 candidates cleared to contest Nigeria’s 109 senatorial seats in the 2027 general election, highlighting both the growing interest of women in national politics and the persistent gender imbalance in the country’s electoral system.

The National Lens reports that the figure is contained in the final list of senatorial candidates released by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), which shows that women constitute only about 9.4 per cent of the candidates seeking election into the Senate.

The remaining 1,180 candidates are men, meaning that for every woman contesting a Senate seat, there are roughly 10 male candidates in the race.

The 127-page final document, signed by INEC Secretary Rose Oriaran-Anthony, contains candidates sponsored by 22 political parties across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.

The gender distribution varies significantly from one state to another.

Akwa Ibom recorded the highest number of female senatorial candidates with 10, while Rivers, Kwara and Osun each produced seven women. Anambra, Enugu and Bayelsa followed with six female candidates each.

At the other end of the spectrum, Jigawa, Nasarawa, Niger and Yobe have no female candidate seeking any of their senatorial seats.

The party distribution also exposes a significant disparity.

The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), which fielded candidates for all 109 senatorial seats, has only four women among its candidates. The Action Democratic Party (ADP) and Allied Peoples Movement (APM) each fielded 11 female candidates, placing them among the parties with the highest number of women in the Senate contest.

The Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) and Youth Party (YP), meanwhile, have no female senatorial candidate on the final list.

The 2027 contest also features several prominent political figures and current or former lawmakers.

Senate President Godswill Akpabio is contesting the Akwa Ibom North-West seat on the APC platform, while Deputy Senate President Jibrin Barau is seeking another term in Kano North.

Senate Chief Whip Orji Uzor Kalu is listed as the APC candidate for Abia North, while former Senate President Ahmed Lawan is seeking re-election in Yobe North.

In Kogi Central, incumbent Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan is flying the PDP flag in a closely watched contest that also features former Governor Yahaya Bello of the APC.

The scale of the contest means an average of almost 12 candidates are competing for each of the 109 Senate seats, setting the stage for intense battles across the country's senatorial districts.

Beyond the individual contests, however, the relatively small number of female candidates has renewed attention on women's participation in Nigerian politics.

With women making up less than one-tenth of the candidates seeking Senate seats, the 2027 election is unlikely to substantially close the country's longstanding gender representation gap unless a significant number of the female candidates succeed at the polls.

The final list nevertheless represents the starting point for what could become one of Nigeria's most competitive legislative elections, with established political figures, former governors, serving lawmakers and new entrants all seeking control of the Red Chamber.