The ballot is set, but the boys’ club is still very much intact.

So, INEC has finally done it.

As first reported by cbinews.tv, the Independent National Electoral Commission has published its final list of candidates for the 2027 National Assembly elections — and if you were hoping for a fresh, more inclusive parliament, the numbers tell a pretty sobering story.

Let’s break it down properly.

INEC’s final candidate list for the Senate and House of Representatives.

Released this week, ahead of the general elections. Presidential and National Assembly polls are slated for 16 January 2027, with governorship and State Houses of Assembly to follow on 6 February 2027.

A whopping 4,408 Nigerians made the final cut — 1,195 for the Senate and 3,213 for the House of Representatives.

After party primaries, substitutions and vetting, INEC published the certified documents on its portal. That’s the list. No more add-ons.

And here’s where it gets uncomfortable.

The Gender Gap That Just Won’t Go Away.

Of those 4,408 candidates, 3,965 are men and only 443 are women. That’s barely 10%.

In the Senate, it’s 1,080 men vs 115 women. In the House, 2,885 men vs 328 women.

The surprise frontrunner for women’s inclusion? The Allied Peoples Movement (APM) — not one of the big two. The party fielded 11 women for Senate and 42 for the House, the highest of any party on the ballot.

Now, let’s add some context, because this isn’t new.

Nigeria has been going backwards. According to INEC and observer data, women held about 7% of National Assembly seats back in 2003. In 2015 it was 5.6%, in 2019 it fell to 4.1%. Today, in the 10th Assembly, women occupy just 4 out of 109 Senate seats and 16 out of 360 in the House — that’s 4.2% total. The country consistently ranks near the bottom globally — 146 out of 152 for women’s political empowerment.

So, while women make up roughly 50% of the population and 47% of registered voters, they are still fighting for crumbs at the table.

Think about what this means on the ground.

A young female lawyer in Kaduna, a market woman leader in Aba, a first-class graduate in Ekiti who wants to legislate on maternal health, school safety, or market taxes — she looks at this list and sees 9 men for every woman. The message, intentional or not, is: politics is still a man’s game.

And it matters beyond symbolism. When the National Assembly debated the Gender and Equal Opportunities Bill and the reserved seats for women, it failed — partly because there weren’t enough women in the room to push it through.

Why It Matters?

This isn’t just a “women’s issue”. A parliament that doesn’t reflect the country can’t properly represent it. Research consistently shows that more diverse legislatures pay more attention to health, education, gender-based violence, and small business — issues that affect every Nigerian household.

If we go into the 2027 election with only 10% female candidates, we are almost guaranteed to come out with less than 5% elected women again. That has real consequences for policy.

What Happens Next?

1. INEC Publication is Final: This is the legally binding list. Parties can only replace a candidate if they die or withdraw voluntarily, with proper affidavit.

2. Campaigns Begin in Earnest: Expect posters, jingles, and door-to-door mobilisation to explode. The Electoral Act says campaigns end 24 hours before polling.

3. Scrutiny Time: Civil society, media and voters will now pore over the list — age, education, past records, and of course, how parties kept to their own constitutions on inclusion.

4. The Ballot Build: INEC will now finalise ballot design, logistics and BVAS configuration for 176,000+ polling units.

Next Steps for You: Check your polling unit, verify your PVC, and actually look at who is running in YOUR constituency. Don’t just vote party — vote track record. And if inclusion matters to you, ask your candidate: what’s your plan for women’s representation?

Source: cbinews.tv.

#NigeriaDecides2027 #INEC #NASS2027 #NigerianPolitics #WomenInPolitics #GenderGap #Senate #HouseOfReps #2027Elections #CBINews