Politics
Women, Party Politics And Elective Positions (2)
This is the second edition of Barrister Nkechi Ugboaja’s paper at a workshop in Port Harcourt. The first part of this paper was published on Monday, March 15, 2010.
Of the three arms of government, to-wit, the executive, the legislature and the judiciary only the first two are provided to be filled under a democratic government by election while the last is by appointment by the first i.e. the executive. Thus elective positions in Nigeria of today are the executive and legislative arms of government running through the 774 Local Government Areas, 36 states and Abuja and the Government of the Federation of Nigeria. Instructively, these elective positions are to be contested for by individuals under the structure and ambit of political parties.
Thus, it may be proper to say that party politics and elective positions are partners in the wheels of safe and efficient democratic Government. They strongly have a linkage with one another. We may note that political parties began in Nigeria with the introduction of “elective principles” under the Sir Clifford constitution of 1922 it was the said elective principles theory in 1922 that gave birth to Herbert Macaulay’s Nigeria National Democratic Party (NNDP), which contested and won all three seats allocated to Lagos in the 1922 legislative council election. This is only to demonstrate the inter play of political parties and elective positions. Thus party politics relates to the intrigues in party administration and choice of parties electoral candidates and positions.
Curiously, we have laboured to find any iota of justification for the perceived discrimination against women in party politics and elective positions in Nigeria but none could be found, at least, from the legal or constitutional point of view. We then ask, are women actually excluded or discriminated against in party politics and elective positions? Is the issue of gender bias a product of women’s sins of omission? Are cultural disabilities still affecting women in this millennium? Or are there socio-cultural than legal impediments necessitating the enquiry as to whether women can cope in party politics and elective positions in Nigeria? Is party politics chaotic and dirty as a game? Of a fact, there may be intrigues, manoeuvering, blackmail, slander, gangsterism in party politics, but is it enough to scare women?
The topic of our discussion again recognises the dominance and full participation of men as overlords in party politics and electoral conquests in Nigeria. Why now the quest for women involvement, one may want to ask.
It is a notable fact of history that in our traditional societies, women were rarely able to hold political office because they were considered too weak and emotional to exercise responsible leadership positions. Women in many of our societies have no right of audience at the village square where it is the prerogative of the men to speak, decide and legislate on issues that concern women. Nor are women entitled to any form of inheritance at the death of their spouses. More still such women are thrown into penury after being subjected to all sorts of traditional indignities like shaving of heads, drinking of the water with which the corpse of their dead spouse has been washed.
However, the exploits of Queen Amina of Zaria and Oba Orompo of the old Oyo kingdom in the 16th Century clearly demonstrate that it was not totally unheard of for women to assume great political power or influence in more elaborate and centralised states. A Unicef situation Assessment and Analysis 2001 reports that when the British colonial administration extended the hitherto highly restricted franchise to southern Nigeria in 1954, women as well as men were given the right to vote and to be voted for.
Even at that the participation of women in politics in the Southern Nigeria was largely limited to the mobilisation of supporters. Yet it was patriarchal attitudes that limited womens effective participation in party political leadership. While the likes of Chief Mrs Margreth Ekpo and Chief Mrs Fumilayo Ransom Kuti were celebrated in the Southern part of the country, the women in the Northern Nigeria were ostensibly excluded from political and electoral participation until well after Independence in 1960.
A few women like Hajia Gambo Sawaba and Ladi Shehu who defied cultural prejudices and distinguished themselves as prominent members of the Northern Elements Progressive Union (NEPU) however paid dearly for their struggle for womens political rights. It could be remembered that Hajia Gambo Sawaba was expelled from Kano and flogged at Zaria, sentenced and imprisoned frequently for seventeen (17) times during the first Nigerian Republic. It was not until 1976 that women were finally allowed in the Northern states to fully take part in political processes through a military decree of that year.
Ever since, the agitation for women participation in political activities have remained the local and international campaign by many organizations, Non Governmental Organisations and even Government sponsored Organisations. I remember on this, this, the exploits of late Hajia Maryam Babangida who transformed the hitherto obscure and ceremonial role of the First Lady of Nigeria into a “store house of knowledge and intelligence gathering for the development of complementary public policy and programmes in the work of the presidency.” Mrs Babangida assembled a core of highly public spirited ladies to begin to build the institution of the first lady of the country. With the Better Life for Rural Women (BLP), she engineered and provided tremendous support base and architecture for the mobilisation of women for political participation.
The successive Family Support Programme and the Family Economic Advancement Programmes of Mrs Mariam Abacha and Fatai Abdusalami respectively equally assisted in the sensitisation of the political participation of women. These campaigns paid off in the general election that ushered in the Olusegun Obasanjo presidency of 1999 though a title percentage of women still got elected into the National Assembly and state Houses of Assembly. Apart from patriarchal attitudes, we are strongly of the opinion that political and electoral violence tend heavily to prevail upon women to shy away from active political participation.
These acts of violence always come by way of politically sponsored executions, assassinations, beating, arson, election rigging, intimidation, political harassment with all sorts of weapons, snatching of ballot boxes and election materials at gun point etc. In return, violent activities produce very devastating and harmful effect on the generality of the people. Evil, it is said, begets evil.
The bye-products of political and electoral violence produces the emergence of god fatherism; proliferation of arms before and after electoral battles, lack of reputable, respectable and credible politicians, debasement and indoctrination of youths who are supposed leaders of tomorrow into the cult of violent and militant activities, increase in armed robbery, armed struggle, kidnapping for ransom and all other manner of extortions and criminal behaviours.
It is equally political and electoral violence that has continued to visit this country with economic instability, political apathy by both men and women of goodwill, death of incorruptible loved ones and, more importantly, retards heavily the speed of growth, spread and development of democracy. It further destroys internal party democracy and unfortunately creates a state of fear and near anarchy in the system.
Nkechi Yvonne Ugboaja
The Senate yesterday urged President Bola Tinubu to remove the Registrar-General of the Corporate Affairs Commission, Hussaini Magaji, over what lawmakers described as a persistent refusal to appear before its Committee on Finance.
The resolution followed a motion raised by Senator Orji Uzor Kalu during a session where members of the President’s economic team were present for engagement with the committee.
Tension rose at the commencement of the meeting when agency heads were introduced and senators observed the absence of the CAC Registrar-General, who had been invited to account for the commission’s activities, particularly on revenue matters.
Moving the motion, Kalu expressed anger over what he termed repeated disregard for legislative oversight, accusing the CAC boss of consistently avoiding invitations to appear before the committee.
He said, “Since I came to the Senate, this CAC man has always given excuses that he is in the Villa or going to London. He is not above the law. This man is not coming to the Senate. Look at the ministers of finance and budget. They are both here. We summoned them and they came.
“But this man thinks he’s bigger than the Senate. We’re not going to take that rubbish again. He had refused on so many occasions to honour our invitation to appear before this committee. We have issues with the reconciliation of the revenue of CAC.
“I move a motion that the man should be reported to Mr President and ask for immediate removal because we cannot continue with him. Is that what we’re doing here? He should come and give us an account of what he had done.”
The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, Senator Sani Musa, corroborated the concerns, pointing to unresolved discrepancies in the reconciliation of the commission’s revenues.
He noted that despite several invitations, the registrar-general had failed to show up to address the issues raised by senators.
“The registrar-general of the Corporate Affairs Commission has refused on so many occasions to honour the calls, invitations or summons of this most important committee.
“There are only about three committees that are in the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the Committee of Finance is one of those committees. Sections 88, and 89 have given us these powers.
“And as registrar-general, we have issues with the reconciliation of their revenue. Anytime he is invited, he will give us one reason or another, and he will send junior officers to come and talk to the Senate. That cannot be accepted,” he said.
In a further show of frustration, Senator Adams Oshiomhole proposed that the Senate escalate the matter by withholding approval of the CAC’s 2026 budget pending the registrar-general’s personal appearance before the committee.
Oshiomhole also suggested that the commission be restrained from spending its internally generated revenue without prior approval of the national assembly.
“This senate should decline to appropriate anything in the 2026 budget until we are satisfied that he has accounted for previous money and spending properly.
“And should he spend money that is not appropriated, he should be heading to Kuje prison,” Oshiomhole said.
The motion urging the President to remove the CAC Registrar-General was subsequently put to a voice vote and adopted.
The development underscores renewed assertiveness by the Senate in exercising its constitutional oversight functions, particularly over revenue-generating agencies.
The Corporate Affairs Commission, which regulates companies and business registrations in Nigeria, is a key contributor to non-oil revenue, making accountability and transparency central to its operations.
President Bola Tinubu has appealed to the leadership of the 10th Senate to amend the constitution to provide a legal framework for the establishment of State Police to tackle insecurity nationwide.
President Tinubu made the appeal during an interfaith breakfast with senators at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, yesterday.
The president said that the creation of State Police has become urgent to address Nigeria’s evolving security challenges, strengthen grassroots policing, and enhance states’ capacity to respond swiftly to threats within their jurisdictions.
He noted that a decentralised policing structure would complement existing federal security architecture and promote intelligence-led, community-focused law enforcement.
“We are facing terrorism, banditry, and insurgency. But we will never fail to make a right response to this cause. What I will ask for tonight is for you (Senators) to start thinking how best to amend the constitution to incorporate the State Police for us to secure our country, take over our forests from marauders, and free our children from fear,” he said.
The president commended the cordial relationship between the Executive and the Senate, saying that unity is needed to defeat terrorism and banditry in the country.
“It is a good thing that we are working in harmony, we are looking forward to a country that evolves, a country that takes care of its citizens and protects all.
Tinubu thanked the Senate for its unflinching support towards achieving various economic reforms of his administration, especially the fuel subsidy removal and tax reform policy.
“I have a lot of credit for bold reforms. Without your collaboration and inspiration, those reforms would not be possible. We are reformists together. What we gave up and what we stopped is monumental corruption in the subsidy system. We don’t want to participate in monumental corruption and arbitrage foreign exchange.
You don’t have to chase me for dollars; you could see what Nigeria is today. You should be proud, and I am glad you are. What we are enjoying is a stable economy, and prosperity is beckoning us. We need to work hard, and this attendance means a lot to me,” the president said.
President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, commended the president for hosting the leadership of the Senate to the Interfaith breaking of fast.
He commended President Tinubu for providing the visionary leadership the nation needs at this critical time, stating that the administration’s bold reforms have now brought more revenue to governors at the sub-national level for the development of critical infrastructure.
The Senate President prayed for the administration, and for the nation’s peace and prosperity.
Alhaji Mohammed Kasim, the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has won the Gwagwalada Area Council chairmanship election in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
Philip Akpeni, the Returning Officer of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), announced the results on Sunday morning.
Alhaji Kasim polled 22,165 votes to defeat Alhaji Yahaya Shehu of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who polled 17,788 votes.
Alhaji Biko Umar of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) scored 1, 687 to come in third place.
“I am the returning officer for the 2026 FCT Area Council, Gwagwalada chairmanship held on Feb. 21, 2026,” Akpeni said.
“That Mohammed Kasim of PDP, having certified the requirements of the law, is hereby declared the winner and is returned elected.”
In the Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC), Hon. Christopher Maikalangu, the APC candidate, was declared the winner of the chairmanship poll with 40,295 votes.
Andrew Abue, the Collation Officer for AMAC, said Hon. Maikalangu, who is the incumbent AMAC chairman, was returned elected having scored the highest number of votes cast.
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) came second with 12,109 votes, while the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) polled 3,398 votes.
According to Abue, the total number of valid votes in the chairmanship poll was 62,861, while the total votes cast stood at 65,197.
He added that the number of registered voters in AMAC was 837,338, while the total number of accredited voters was 65,676.
Meanwhile, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared Mr. Joshua Ishaku of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the winner of the Bwari Area Council Chairmanship election.
Announcing the result on Sunday in Bwari, the Returning Officer for the election, Prof. Mohammed Nurudeen, stated that Ishaku polled a total of 18,466 votes to emerge victorious in the February 21, 2026 poll.
“I am the Returning Officer for the 2026 FCT Area Council, Bwari chairmanship held on Feb. 21, 2026. That Joshua Ishaku, having satisfied the requirements of the law, is hereby declared the winner and is returned elected,” Nurudeen said.
According to the results declared, the candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) secured 4,254 votes, while the Zenith Labour Party (ZLP) polled 3,515 votes to place second and third respectively.
The declaration adds to the series of results emerging from the 2026 FCT Area Council elections, as political parties assess their performance ahead of future contests.
INEC UPLOADS 2,602 OF 2,822 FCT CHAIRMANSHIP RESULTS ON IReV
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had uploaded 2,602 out of the 2,822 expected polling unit results from Saturday’s chairmanship elections in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) as at 5:55am on Sunday, data retrieved from its Result Viewing Portal (IReV) showed.
According to The Tide source, the figure represents an overall upload rate of about 92.2 per cent across the six area councils of the territory.
A council-by-council breakdown indicates that Municipal Area Council recorded the highest number of submissions in absolute terms, with 1,309 of 1,401 polling unit results uploaded, representing 93.43 per cent.
In Gwagwalada Area Council, 330 of the expected 338 polling unit results had been uploaded, representing 97.63 per cent — the highest upload rate among the six councils.
In Bwari Area Council, INEC uploaded 463 of 485 polling unit results, translating to 95.46 per cent.
In Abaji Area Council, 129 of 135 polling unit results had been uploaded as at 5:55am, representing 95.56 per cent.
In Kwali Area Council, 164 of the expected 201 polling unit results were available on the portal, representing 81.59 per cent.
In Kuje Area Council, 207 of 262 polling unit results had been uploaded, representing 79.01 per cent — the lowest rate among the six councils as at the time of review.
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