Political Firestorm! ADC Candidate Toyo Dares Tinubu Over Women's 2027 Election Fate!

Nkoyo Toyo, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) governorship candidate for Cross River State, has issued a stern warning that President Bola Tinubu will be held responsible if women fail to achieve meaningful representation in the forthcoming 2027 elections. Speaking on Channels Television’s Morning Brief programme, Toyo critically assessed the state of women’s participation in Nigerian politics, highlighting a significant deficit in political will from both the National Assembly and the executive.

Toyo revealed that Nigerian women have actively mobilized over the past two years, transcending party lines and collaborating with traditional, religious, and other key stakeholders. Their unified demand has been for the creation of special legislative seats dedicated to women. This initiative, she clarified, is not a plea for preferential treatment but a crucial measure to counteract the historical exclusion of women from vital political decision-making processes. She underscored that without explicit constitutional and legal backing, ensuring women's voices are legally recognized within a system that has persistently marginalized them would remain an 'uphill task'.

The ADC candidate openly questioned the APC government and other relevant authorities regarding the non-passage of legislation aimed at establishing special seats for women, despite sustained and widespread advocacy. She queried, “If we are so committed to the issue of women’s representation, why was that law not passed?” Toyo further argued that the existing electoral framework, particularly the processes and timelines governing political parties' candidate selection, poses additional and significant hurdles for women aspiring to elective office. She asserted that the Electoral Act, in practice, has 'worked against women,' leading to a chaotic recruitment process where serious consideration for women's participation was seemingly absent.

Predicting a dismal outcome for women in the 2027 elections, Toyo reiterated her conviction that President Tinubu would ultimately bear the fault for this failure. She stated that it would be 'very, very surprising if many women scale through in this particular election,' placing the accountability squarely on the president. According to Toyo, high-level advocacy efforts for greater representation have reached the highest echelons of government, yet the persistent failure to translate these calls into tangible legislation demonstrates a profound lack of commitment. She summarized the situation by concluding, 'Nobody wanted to take a risk on women. That’s the bottom line.'

In a direct appeal, Toyo called upon the First Lady to extend her support to women across the entire political spectrum, rather than limiting her efforts to a single political platform. Emphasizing the First Lady’s role as a 'mother to the nation,' Toyo stressed the critical need for women's presence in political parties, decision-making roles, the legislature, and executive positions. She urged the First Lady to leverage her influence to champion women seeking political office and to foster opportunities for those already serving in public capacities. Lastly, Toyo decisively dismissed the notion that cultural factors are the primary impediment to women’s political participation, unequivocally asserting that the core issue is an 'absence of political will.'