WOMEN made up 25 per cent of President Bola Tinubu’s ministerial list, which was unveiled by the Senate on Thursday, July 27.
The list, sent to the Senate for screening and confirmation as ministers, include 21 men and seven women, making a total of 28 nominees.
The female ministers include former deputy spokesperson for the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Hannatu Musawa.
Musawa was recently appointed by Tinubu as Special Adviser on Culture and Entertainment Economy.
Other female nominees include former Imo State Commissioner for Finance and Coordinating Economy, Doris Uzoka-Anite, and an ex-member of the House of Representatives, Nkiru Onyejiocha.
Others are APC National Women Leader and former Cross River Commissioner for Health Betta Edu; ex-Executive Director (Business Development), Nigeria Export-Import (NEXIM) Bank Stella Okotete; former Commissioner of the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants, and Internally Displaced Persons (NCFRMI) Imaan Suleman Ibrahim, and the only female presidential aspirant of the APC in the 2023 general elections, Uju Kennedy Ohanenye.
Tinubu, however, noted that the list was not exhaustive, suggesting that names of more nominees would be sent to the Senate.
“While noting that the above list is not exhaustive and that additional nominations will be sent in due course, I hope that the aforementioned nominees will receive the expeditious consideration and confirmation of the Senate,” Tinubu said in the letter.
To enhance women’s representation in governance, Nigeria introduced the National Gender Policy (NGP) in 2006, which recommends that women fill up 35 per cent of appointive positions in the country for more inclusion.
However, Nigeria ranked 123rd out of the 146 countries rated in the 2022 Global Gender Gap Report by the World Economic Forum.
Tinubu promised that women and young people will feature prominently in his government during his inaugural speech on May 29.
Although the list does not meet the 35 per cent mark recommended by the NGP, it is an improvement upon the 16 per cent recorded in the previous administration.
Ijeoma Opara is a journalist with The ICIR. Reach her via [email protected] or @ije_le on Twitter.