Men make up over 90 percent of the candidates running for the Edo State House of Assembly. Women account for less than 10 percent. This shows a big gender gap in the race for seats in the state legislature.
The Independent National Electoral Commission released the final list on Saturday in Benin. A total of 164 candidates will compete in the election. According to the News Agency of Nigeria, 148 of these candidates are men, which is 90.24 percent. Only 16 are women, making up 9.76 percent.
This means the ratio of male to female candidates is about 9 to 1. It highlights how few women are trying to represent the 24 constituencies in the Edo State House.
This situation raises concerns about women's access to elected office and the commitment of political parties to ensure equal representation. It also points to the ongoing challenges that women face in Nigeria's political system.
Some of the women on the candidate list include Memo Akerele (30) from the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in Akoko Edo I, Elizabeth Dauda (51) from the Labour Party (LP) in Akoko Edo II, and Negbedion Shirley (33) from the SDP in Esan North East I.
Other female candidates are Maria Edeko (63) from the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Esan North East II, Mercy Bello (37) from the African Action Congress (AAC) in Etsako West I, and Salamatu Izuagie (63) from the African Democratic Congress (ADC) in Etsako West I.
In Egor Constituency, there are several female candidates like Bukky Ayetan (30) from the Action Democratic Party (ADP), Bridget Obakpolor (54) from the LP, Natasha Osawaru (32) from the National Democratic Congress (NDC), and Imuetinyan Bright (45) from the SDP.
Other women include Osarenkhoe Erhunmwunse and Tracy Ogiemwonyi in Ikpoba-Okha, Patience Edobor and Helen Omorogbe in Orhionmwon Constituency 1, Uyigue Efosa in Ovia North East Constituency I, and Omosede Adenomo in Ovia South West.
Despite these candidates, the numbers show that women are still a small group in this election. This may affect their representation in the new Assembly if the election results reflect these numbers.
Looking at age, the candidate list includes people from different age groups. Idriss Idriss from the SDP is the youngest at 26, running in Etsako West Constituency 11.
Other young candidates are Johnson Ipeshi from the SDP in Akoko Edo Constituency II, who is 28, Odia Godwin from the Young Progressives Party (YPP) in Esan South East at 29, and Edobor Patience from the ADP in Orhionmwon Constituency 1, also 29.
Their participation shows that younger Nigerians are interested in politics after years of calls for more youth involvement, especially from the Not Too Young To Run movement.
On the other side, there are older candidates too. Nosakhare Igbinedion from the Action Peoples Party (APP) is 66 and running in Orhionmwon Constituency 11. Omorogbe Helen from the APP, in Orhionmwon Constituency 1, is 65.
The candidate list includes various political parties, such as APC and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), plus SDP, LP, ADC, ADP, NDC, APP, YPP, AAC, Allied Peoples Movement (APM), Action Alliance (AA), and the National Rescue Movement (NRM).
This shows that there are more options beyond the two main political parties in Nigeria.
Candidates have different education levels. Some have basic school certificates and the Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination. Others have university degrees, postgraduate studies, and professional qualifications.
The list includes people with BSc, BEd, BEng, HND, LLB, MSc, and MBA degrees. Oyairo John Nosakhare from the SDP in Orhionmwon constituency has a PhD.
In the Persons with Disabilities (PWD) section, all candidates listed show “None,” meaning no PWD will run in the state Assembly election.
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