2027: Include women in primaries or face sanction – Amupitan warns parties

The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has read the riot act to Nigerian political parties ahead of the 2027 general polls, warning that failure to include women in primaries will attract regulatory sanctions.

Prof Joash Amupitan, the body’s chairman, made the announcement at its International Women’s Day 2026 celebration in the nation’s capital. He added that “symbolic concessions” are no longer adequate under the Electoral Act 2026.

The Senior Advocate of Nigeria added that the Commission would scrutinise the inclusivity of primaries more rigorously, saying it is no longer enough to simply offer free nomination forms to women while maintaining glass ceilings in inner caucuses.

While raising an alarm on what he termed “gender based disinformation and digital harassment aimed at female aspirants”, he declared that the electoral space must remain a sanctuary of ideas rather than a battlefield of gender targeted character assassination.

“Here at INEC, we are committed to equity with women now holding 43% of directorate-level positions at the headquarters, with 218 women serving as electoral officers across the federation. To further this agenda, we appointed Hajia Hadiza Abubakar Talba as Special Adviser on Gender and Inclusivity”, he said.