Nigeria: Ministers

President Tinubu is not alone in jettisoning fair women representation in his cabinet. Since 1999, no Nigerian president has attained the 35 per cent women affirmative action.

With the swearing-in on Monday of seven new ministers by President Bola Tinubu of Nigeria, the new 48-member cabinet now has only seven women, amounting to a paltry 16.6 per cent female representation.

This is worse than what was recorded in 2023 when Mr Tinubu first inaugurated his cabinet of 48 ministers with eight women, amounting to 18.75 per cent.

The development runs contrary to Mr Tinubu’s campaign pledge to feature women “prominently” in his administration. He said women would constitute 35 per cent of all appointments in his administration.

But rather than improving the statistics, which had earlier received widespread condemnation by gender advocates and rights activists, the latest cabinet reshuffle by the president has further reduced the percentage of women appointed into his cabinet.

Before 23 October when the president announced a rejig of his cabinet, there were 46 ministers and ministers of state serving in the administration. Two of the initial 48 cabinet members who were appointed in August 2023 had left the positions in different circumstances.

While a former Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, Betta Edu, was suspended over fraud allegations, the former Plateau State Governor, Solomon Lalong, who was in charge of the Ministry of Labour and Employment, resigned to move to the Senate following his victory in court.

When the cabinet was first constituted, there were eight women until Ms Edu was shown the exit door.

Similarly, in his cabinet reshuffle, the president sacked three women and two men, and announced seven new nominees comprising three women and four men.

While the number of the ministers has now returned to the 48 earlier announced in 2023, the number of women in the cabinet has reduced from eight to seven.

Female ministers

The current women ministers are Suwaiba Ahmad (Minister of State for Education), Jumoke Oduwole, (Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment), Bianca Odumegu-Ojukwu (Minister of State for Foreign Affairs), Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim (Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development).

Others are Hannatu Musawa (Minister of Art, Culture, Tourism and the Creative Economy), Mairiya Mahmoud (Minister of State, FCT), Doris Uzoka-Anite (Minister of State, Finance) and Nkiruka Onyejeocha, (Minister of State, Labour and Employment).

Of these seven women ministers, four are tasked to play second fiddle roles as ministers of state while only three are to serve in substantive capacity over their ministries. The senior ministers are those in charge of the Ministries of Women Affairs and Social Development; Industry, Trade and Investment, and Art, Culture, Tourism and the Creative Economy.

Campaign promise

In his manifesto document titled: “Renewed Hope 2023- Action Plan for a Better Nigeria,” Mr Tinubu promised women 35 per cent of all positions in his government.

“Equity and fairness for women will be a top priority of the Tinubu government. Working with the National Assembly, we will aim to pass legislation promoting female employment in all government offices, ministries and agencies. The goal will be to increase women’s participation in government to at least 35 per cent of all governmental positions,” the manifesto reads.

“The legislation shall also mandate the federal executive (particularly the cabinet and core senior advisers) to reserve a minimum number of senior positions for women. Private institutions shall be strongly encouraged to do likewise.”

Mr Tinubu has not sent such a bill to the parliament although the lawmakers are already considering amending the constitution to allow for more women participation in governance. However, even without such a law, ministers are appointed at the discretion of the president and he can signal his intention to meet his 35 per cent promise by ensuring such in his ministerial appointments.

PREMIUM TIMES checks show that not only did Mr Tinubu’s manifesto indicate the 35 per cent, but officials of his party, APC, also expressed it at different fora.

Ms Edu, who was the National Women Leader of the APC during the elections, promised that women would hold 35 per cent of positions in Mr Tinubu’s administration.

“Women can be assured that they will get the right seat at the table. They will be given 35 per cent affirmative action from the president,” she said after the party’s victory at last year’s polls.

However, over one year after Mr Tinubu assumed office, women make up less than 20 per cent of his ministers.

International Agreements

Apart from the president’s manifesto, Nigeria is a signatory to several international conventions that promote gender equity. These include the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDEW), the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (1995) and the African Union’s Maputo Protocol.

The country has also had a National Gender Policy in place since 2006, aiming to establish a framework for gender-responsiveness in public and private institutions. The policy aligns with international laws and the Nigerian constitution, which guarantees gender parity, but it remains largely unimplemented.

Tinubu joins predecessors in ignoring women

President Tinubu is not alone in jettisoning fair women representation in his cabinet. Since 1999, no Nigerian president has attained the 35 per cent women affirmative action stipulated in the National Gender Policy (NGP) 2006.

The closest any of Mr Tinubu’s predecessors got to the 35 per cent threshold was when former President Goodluck Jonathan achieved a 31 per cent representation of female ministers during his administration in 2011.

It was for this reason, in 2020, that nine civil society organisations filed a suit against the Nigerian government, seeking the implementation of the 35 per cent Affirmative Action in appointments of women into public office. They won the case in court but nothing has changed.

Local and international organisations have taken note of the poor representation of women in governance in Nigeria. In a 2022 report by the Gender Strategy Advancement International (GSAI), Nigeria ranked 186 of 198 countries on the Gender Equality Index for countries with low women representation in governance, a narrative the newly assigned women affairs minister said she is committed to changing.

However, in 2024, Nigeria improved by five spots on the World Economic Forum’s Gender Gap Index. Despite the improvement in the country’s ranking, it is at 125th position out of 146 countries on the index.

Significance of female representation in governance

Marking the 35 per cent affirmative actions for female representation in ministerial cabinet and governance “is crucial for many reasons, especially in ensuring inclusive governance, equitable policy formulation, and effective social development,” Bukky Shonibare, executive director of Invictus Africa, a civic-tech company with focus on human right and gender equality, told PREMIUM TIMES.

Ms Shonibare highlighted the importance of gender inclusivity in decision-making bodies, particularly in cabinets. By having a diverse representation of genders, cabinets can benefit from balanced decision-making and unique perspectives on issues that disproportionately affect women

“Given that women make up nearly half of Nigeria’s population, an inadequate female representation weakens the legitimacy and responsiveness of the government’s policies toward all citizens.

“There are examples from other countries of how this manifests. Globally, countries with higher female representation in government often see more balanced decision-making. In the Nordic countries, high female representation has led to progressive social policies and a stronger focus on family welfare, which benefits society broadly.”

She said that reaching the 35 per cent women’s representation benchmark in Nigeria would be a significant milestone, demonstrating the country’s commitment to gender equality and inspiring confidence among women and girls. This achievement would position Nigeria as a champion of inclusion, crucial for sustainable development and social cohesion.

Also speaking, the Manager, Project and Lagos Field Office, Actionaid Nigeria, Vivian Efem-Bassey, said one of the rationales behind the continued under-representation of women at such a level is patriarchy, which she described as a mainstreamed factor in the society that sees women only in supportive roles.

“I believe patriarchy comes into play which believes in the practice of male dominance. Little wonder our politics toes the patriarchal line. Women are given support roles like mobilising fellow women to vote for party flag bearers, usually men. Women are also seen in welfare positions and organising events.

“It was only recently that we saw women in spokesperson positions. This contributes to why women are in the background and not seen in the same power positions where you find men.”

The low women representation in Mr Tinubu’s cabinet reflects the generally low women participation in governance in Nigeria even though the Nigerian constitution provides for gender equality and non-discrimination. Less than 10 per cent of Nigeria’s federal lawmakers are women while many state parliaments don’t even have women members. This is despite the fact that women make up almost half of the country’s population.

Also, according to the 2022 World Bank report, women constituted nearly half of the registered voters in the last election.