Activist Decries Gender Representation Gaps As INEC Releases Final 2027 Senate List

Following the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) official publication of the final list of candidates for the January 2027 National Assembly elections, gender rights activist and Young Progressives Party (YPP) senatorial candidate, Barrister Jennifer Agbaji, has lamented the stark gender imbalance in Nigeria’s political landscape.

​Agbaji noted that a comprehensive national analysis of the 1,195 cleared candidates competing for the 109 senatorial seats reveals that women account for less than 10% of the total contender pool.

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According to her, the key statistical breakdown shows: Total Senatorial Candidates: 1,195 contenders nationwide fighting for 109 seats. Male representation: 1,080 candidates, translating to a dominant 90.38% share. Female representation: 115 candidates, making up a meager 9.62%.

​Statistically, the ratio gap shows roughly “9.4 male candidates vying for every 1 female candidate, reducing overall female visibility to roughly 1 in every 10 contenders,” she stated.

​Beyond gender metrics, Agbaji added that official INEC documentation highlights a total vacuum in inclusion tracking for Persons with Disabilities (PWD). A meticulous scan of the 127-page national Senate document reveals that every single candidate entry under the dedicated PWD column is formally recorded as “None,” leaving zero candidates officially identified as PWD.

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Stakeholders, civil society groups, and governance advocates emphasize that this metric should be interpreted strictly as “zero candidates identified in INEC’s designated PWD field” rather than an absolute factual claim about candidates’ private health realities. Nonetheless, the absence of recorded declarations exposes a severe structural reporting and inclusion gap.

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Zooming into sub-national data underscores how these systemic gaps manifest locally. In Kaduna State, where INEC cleared 33 candidates across its three senatorial districts (Kaduna North, Kaduna Central, and Kaduna South), female candidates remain heavily outnumbered.

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The INEC list features prominent names in the male-dominated race, including heavyweights like former Governor Mukhtar Yero (APC, Kaduna North) and former Senator Shehu Sani (APC, Kaduna Central).

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However, the emergence of new hopefuls and female contenders like Jennifer Agbaji (YPP, Kaduna North), Hafsat Badamasi (ADP, Kaduna Central), and Laura Yimi Lucas (SDP, Kaduna South) stand out as crucial exceptions in districts where major political parties struggle to balance gender parity. Similar to the national registry, all entries for the Kaduna candidates list their PWD status as “None” on the official forms.

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As campaigns and advocacy for balance and quality representation commence with 1,195 individuals chasing 109 legislative positions, the data serves as an empirical anchor for “Real Representation” campaigns—demonstrating that systemic barriers to entry for women and marginalized groups remain deeply entrenched ahead of the 2027 polls.