Stakeholders has identified sustainable financing as a critical requirement for increasing women’s participation in politics, stressing that the high cost of elections remains one of the biggest barriers to women’s leadership.
Speaking at the West Africa Women’s Political Leadership Forum in Abuja, the Director of the UNDP Regional Programme for Africa, Dr. Jide Okeke, said political inclusion would remain out of reach unless governments, political parties and development partners deliberately invest in financing mechanisms that reduce the financial burden of seeking elective office.
He stressed that meaningful progress in women’s political participation requires practical financial support, noting that many capable women are discouraged from contesting elections because of the enormous costs involved.
He lamented that despite women’s proven leadership capacity, political representation across West Africa remained unacceptably low.
“Women currently occupy only 18.4 per cent of parliamentary seats across the sub-region”, describing the figure as inconsistent with the region’s development aspirations.
Okeke, however, commended the ECOWAS Commission for championing the recently endorsed Presidential Declaration on Women’s Political Participation, expressing optimism that effective implementation of the framework would significantly improve gender parity in political leadership.
He stressed that political inclusion would remain elusive unless governments and development partners deliberately invested in financing mechanisms capable of reducing the high cost of seeking political office.
The ECOWAS Vice-President, Mme Damtien Tchintchibidja, said the regional bloc would develop a comprehensive roadmap to accelerate women’s political participation in collaboration with member states, Civil Society Organisations, women leaders and regional networks.
She noted that ECOWAS alone could not achieve the desired transformation, stressing that coordinated action, adequate financing and strong political commitment from member states were essential.
According to her, the roadmap will establish measurable targets, strengthen accountability mechanisms and promote peer learning among member states to enable countries adopt successful models suited to their national contexts.
Meanwhile, the Federal Government also announced plans to deepen collaboration with the United Nations and other development partners through the establishment of a Women’s Political Participation Academy.
Minister of Women Affairs, Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim, said the proposed academy would identify, train and mentor women leaders while equipping them with the skills, knowledge and networks required to compete successfully for political office.
According to her, the initiative forms part of Nigeria’s broader commitment to implementing the outcomes of the Abuja forum and translating regional declarations into measurable national actions.
“By hosting this forum Nigeria is affirming its determination to advance women’s political leadership at home and to contribute to progress across the West African region.”
Source: New Telegraph
