Nigeria is a Federal Republic composed of 36 states, with a population figure put at 193,392,517
(98,630,184, 51% males and; 94,762,333, 49% females) as at April 2018 by the National Population
Commission (NPC) and the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). The country’s federal structure
comprises of three arms: The Executive, the Legislative and the Judiciary. The Executive power is
exercised by the President/Vice President at the federal level and the 36 Governors/Deputy Governors at the state level. The two chambers of the legislature known as the Senate and House of Representatives hold the Legislative power at the National Level. There are 36 Houses of Assembly at the State level having legislative powers. People who occupy these offices are elected by the people during elections conducted by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). The intent of this fact sheet is to revisit discourse on women representation in elective offices in Nigeria
by providing reliable data on the trends and generate robust discussion around the issues as the
country prepares for the 2019 general elections. By so doing, we hope that issues that emerge from
the analysis would generate advocacy and policy actions from all stakeholders, including; government, political parties, Civil Society Organizations, women’s activists, HeforShe and women in politics to increase the number of women’s political representation in Nigeria.
