IWD 2026: UN Women Warns Nigeria’s Democracy at Risk as Women¹ Hold Just 3.9% of Parliamentary Seats

By: Michael Michael

The Country Representative of UN Women to Nigeria and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Beatrice Eyong, has warned that Nigeria’s democratic progress and development could remain stunted unless urgent action is taken to close the country’s widening gender inequality gap.

Speaking in Abuja during a media parley ahead of the 2026 commemoration of International Women’s Day, Eyong said Nigeria continues to face troubling disparities in women’s representation, safety and access to justice despite years of advocacy and policy commitments.

The global observance this year is themed “Rights. Justice. Action.”

Eyong said the theme reflects a growing international concern that although women’s rights are widely recognised in law and policy, millions of women still struggle to experience those rights in their daily lives.

She particularly raised alarm over Nigeria’s extremely low level of female political representation, revealing that women currently occupy just 3.9 per cent of parliamentary seats, one of the lowest rates anywhere in the world.

According to her, the imbalance not only undermines democratic inclusion but also weakens the country’s ability to make policies that reflect the needs of half of its population.

“Gender equality is fundamentally a question of power, and the power gap in Nigeria remains stark,” Eyong said.

“When women are missing from decision-making tables, the consequences are visible in the policies we adopt, the priorities we fund, and the voices that remain unheard.”

Beyond politics, she said Nigeria continues to grapple with persistently high levels of gender-based violence, noting that many survivors still face enormous barriers in seeking justice.

She warned that violence against women is increasingly spreading into digital spaces, where technology-facilitated abuse has become a growing threat.

“Rights mean little without justice,” she said. “Justice must be experienced in women’s safety, in their freedom from fear, and in their ability to seek protection and accountability wherever abuse occurs.”

To confront these challenges, Eyong said UN Women is intensifying advocacy for the Special Seats for Women Bill, a constitutional reform proposal aimed at guaranteeing women stronger representation in Nigeria’s legislative institutions.

She explained that the organisation is also working with the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs to strengthen the National Sexual Offender Database, a critical accountability tool designed to prevent convicted offenders from evading detection by moving between states.

In addition, she said UN Women has expanded its engagement with traditional and religious leaders across Nigeria to challenge cultural norms and social practices that perpetuate discrimination and violence against women.

The agency is also supporting efforts to institutionalise Gender-Responsive Budgeting at federal and state levels to ensure government spending prioritises issues affecting women and girls, including maternal health, girl-child education, economic empowerment and community safety.

Eyong noted that beyond policy reforms, UN Women is building partnerships with financial institutions and the private sector to increase access to funding for women-led businesses and community initiatives.

She also highlighted ongoing efforts to strengthen women’s participation in peacebuilding and conflict prevention through Nigeria’s Third National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security.

However, Eyong stressed that meaningful progress will require more than policy declarations.

According to her, Nigeria does not suffer from a shortage of gender policies but from weak implementation, insufficient financing and inconsistent enforcement.

“We must move from commitments to implementation and from plans to measurable impact,” she said.

She called on the media to intensify its role in exposing injustice, amplifying the voices of survivors of violence and promoting women’s leadership across sectors.

Eyong said journalists remain critical partners in shaping national conversations that can influence policy reforms and public attitudes toward gender equality.

“When we secure justice and rights for women, we secure Nigeria’s stability, prosperity and future,” she said.

She added that UN Women remains committed to working with government, civil society, development partners and communities to ensure that the ideals of Rights, Justice and Action translate into tangible change for women and girls across Nigeria.

IWD 2026: UN Women Warns Nigeria’s Democracy at Risk as Women Hold Just 3.9% of Parliamentary Seats

Zulum Appoints Dr. Sa’id Alkali Kori, 3 others as Chairman, Board Members, Borno Investment Promotion Agency

By: Our Reporter

The earlier statement inadvertently refers to Dr. Sa’id Alkali Kori as the Director General/Chief Executive Officer of the Borno State Investment Promotion Agency, rather than the Chairman/Chief Investment Adviser to the Borno State Governor.

Therefore, this statement supersedes the earlier one.

Borno State Governor, Professor Babagana Umara Zulum, has approved the appointment of Dr. Sa’id Alkali Kori as Chairman/Chief Investment Adviser to the Borno State Governor.

Dr. Kori is a consummate entrepreneur and investment and infrastructure finance expert, and holds a PhD in Humanities and Social Sciences with a focus on Intellectual Capital from the University of London, United Kingdom.

He serves as the Honorary Special Adviser on International Relations and Investment to the Governor of Yobe State and is the Technical Adviser to the Lake Chad Basin Governors’ Forum.

Dr. Kori is currently the Chairman and Group Chief Executive Officer of Thinklab Group Limited, a leading innovation and development finance firm. He also serves as the Chairman of the Board for the Nigeria Food Corporation.

He has structured financing in excess of $200 million for critical infrastructure in housing, healthcare, and road networks.

The appointment is for the initial term of four years.

Governor Babagana Umara Zulum has also approved the appointment of Laminu Lawan Awana, Abubakar Ahmed Askira, and Danladi Alfaki Isa as Governing Board members representing the three senatorial zones of the state.

This is in accordance with section 6(b) of the Borno State Investment Promotion Law 2026 (as amended).

The appointees are seasoned professionals in trade and investment, development financing, housing, and mortgage finance.

Other members of the Board include:

A representative from each of the following Ministries, Departments, and Agencies, not below the rank of a Director, as Ex-Officio Members:
· Ministry of Commerce, Trade and Industries
· Borno State Geographic Information Service (BOGIS)
· Ministry of Works
· Ministry of Housing and Energy
· Ministry of Justice
· Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources
· Ministry of Livestock
· Ministry of Planning
· Ministry of Finance
· Ministry of Local Government and Emirate Affairs

2. Two (2) representatives from the Organized Private Sector in Borno State.
3. The Director-General of the Borno State Investment Promotion Agency will serve as the Secretary.

All the appointments take immediate effect.

Governor Babagana Zulum expressed confidence that, with Dr. Kori’s vast experience and the collective expertise of the board members, the state will be positioned as a hub for domestic and foreign investment and will foster viable Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) to accelerate the State’s economic revitalization and sustainable development.

Zulum Appoints Dr. Sa’id Alkali Kori, 3 others as Chairman, Board Members, Borno Investment Promotion Agency

Tinubu: The FCT Verdict and Inevitability of 2027

By Jude Obioha

The 2027 presidential election may still be months away, but its contours are already visible to anyone willing to read the signs. Politics, like history, leaves clues. And the recent Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Area Council elections, alongside parallel electoral exercises in parts of Rivers and Kano States, have provided more than clues. They have offered a preview.

The message from the FCT was neither ambiguous nor accidental.

The All Progressives Congress (APC) secured five of the six chairmanship seats, flipping the Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC), Bwari, and Kuje from the Peoples Democratic Party, leaving the opposition with only Gwagwalada. In AMAC, the most populous and politically symbolic council in the nation’s capital, the APC did not merely win; it dominated, polling over 40,000 votes, more than triple the tally of its closest challenger. In Nigeria’s political heartbeat, voters spoke with clarity.

This was not just a council election. It was a temperature check. And the temperature suggests that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s political machinery is not only intact but also expanding.

Those who dismiss local elections as inconsequential misunderstand Nigerian political dynamics. The FCT is not just any territory; it is the seat of power, the melting pot of Nigeria’s elite and grassroots political currents. When the ruling party strengthens its grip there, it signals organisational discipline, voter mobilisation capacity, and strategic coherence. It also reveals something more uncomfortable for the opposition: fragmentation. What even makes the victory more compelling is that APC has never won AMAC in Council or the FCT in Presidential elections. But just as it flipped in 2026 for AMAC, this could be the trajectory in 2027, not only in the Nation’s Capital but across the country.

While the APC consolidates, the opposition continues to splinter. Personal ambitions eclipse collective strategy. Coalition talks rise and collapse in cycles of distrust. Meanwhile, key political figures across party lines quietly align with Tinubu’s centre of gravity. Today, more than 30 governors, including some outside the APC fold, are considered allies of the President. In Nigerian politics, that is not a coincidence. It is architecture.

Tinubu did not arrive at this moment by accident. For over two decades, he has cultivated alliances, mentored political actors, built networks that transcend ethnicity and region, and demonstrated a rare capacity for long-term strategy. From Lagos to the national stage, he has shown an ability to think beyond electoral cycles. His 2023 victory was the product of patience and preparation. His governance since then reflects consolidation.

Critics predicted collapse when he removed fuel subsidies and unified the exchange rate. They foresaw a political implosion as reforms tightened liquidity and global inflation surged. Yet, against a backdrop of inherited fiscal strain and near-monetary instability, the administration has steadied the ship of macroeconomics. The Naira has shown signs of recovery. Food prices, while still sensitive, have begun to ease in several markets. Investor confidence is cautiously returning. None of this suggests perfection. But it does signal resilience.

Politics rewards resilience. The FCT results, therefore, are not merely about council chairpersons. They are about perception. Voters in the capital had an opportunity to register a protest. Instead, they reinforced the ruling party. That reinforcement carries symbolic weight. It suggests that, at least for now, the reform pain has not translated into wholesale rejection.

Beyond Abuja, similar patterns in Rivers and Kano further underscore a broader national trend: the ruling party is organised; its rivals are reactive.
If elections were solely about sentiment, 2027 might still be unpredictable. But elections are about structure: polling units, ward agents, coalition discipline, voter databases, and resource mobilisation. On those metrics, the APC appears several steps ahead.

One might even argue, cautiously but realistically, that the next presidential contest is shaping up less like a battlefield and more like a procession, with the final destination a “coronation” of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for his second term.

This is not to diminish the democratic imperative of competition. Democracy demands opposition. It thrives on alternatives. But effective opposition requires coherence, not cacophony. At present, Nigeria’s opposition landscape is characterised more by internal recalibration than collective mobilisation.

Tinubu, meanwhile, continues to consolidate elite consensus while maintaining grassroots engagement. His style may be deliberate, sometimes opaque, but it is rarely impulsive. He understands the arithmetic of power: governors influence state machinery; state machinery influences turnout; turnout influences outcomes.

That arithmetic is already aligning. Therefore, to describe his anticipated re-election as a “coronation” may sound dramatic. Yet politics often moves long before ballots are cast. Momentum, once built, acquires its own inevitability. The FCT elections were not the cause of that momentum; they were evidence of it.

Could unforeseen variables emerge? Certainly, Nigerian politics is famously dynamic. Economic shocks, security challenges, or breakthroughs in coalition dynamics can quickly reshape landscapes. But as of today, the trajectory is unmistakable.

President Tinubu has outmanoeuvred rivals before. He has demonstrated the patience to endure criticism and the strategic instinct to expand alliances. With a consolidated ruling party, cross-party gubernatorial alignment, and early electoral signals tilting in his favour, 2027 increasingly appears less a question of “if” and more a question of margin.

History often whispers before it announces. The FCT has whispered. And if the opposition continues on its present course: divided, reactive, and organisationally thin, then the 2027 presidential election may well confirm what these early signals already suggest: that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s second term is not merely probable, but politically inevitable.

Obioha is the Director of Strategy at the Hope Alive Initiative (HAI), a group dedicated to good governance in Nigeria.

Tinubu: The FCT Verdict and Inevitability of 2027