Wike-led PDP faction, NRM push for more political roles for women
Ahead of the 2027 general elections, the Wike-led faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the National Rescue Movement (NRM) have called for more women in leadership and decision-making positions.
The call was made at the NRM National Women Summit in Abuja on Thursday, November 12,2026 where both parties said women should not only be celebrated during campaigns but given real opportunities to contest and win elections.
Speaking on behalf of the National Chairman of the Wike-led PDP, Abdulrahman Mohammed, Board of Trustees member, Dr Helen Adebakin, said women have consistently proven themselves as mobilisers, strategists, organisers and leaders.
She lamented that despite their contributions, women are often pushed aside when leadership positions are shared.
“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,” Adebakin said.
She described increased female representation in parliament as both a democratic imperative and a development necessity, adding that parties must go beyond promises and create genuine pathways for women to contest, influence policy and lead.
According to her, meaningful inclusion will require deliberate policies, institutional commitment, funding, mentorship and the removal of barriers holding women back.
“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 said.
Also speaking, NRM National Chairman, Chinedu Obi, said his party has taken concrete steps to promote gender inclusion.
He shared that the NRM gave its highly sought after organising secretary position to a woman.
“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,” Obi said.
Obi also disclosed that after screening three qualified aspirants, the party chose a woman as its presidential flag bearer.
“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,” he said.
He stressed that no party can win elections without women and youths, urging women to strengthen the party’s structures nationwide and mobilise ahead of 2027.
“If there’s no women, there won’t be any elections,” he said.
Obi urged women to use their voting power to demand change, pointing to poverty, insecurity and economic hardship as reasons Nigerians need a new direction.
Despite their major role in electioneering, mobilisation and grassroots politics, women remain underrepresented in Nigeria’s political leadership, with growing calls for parties to adopt deliberate measures to close the gap before 2027.