Gender development falls short in the ongoing off circle election ,this comes as only three female candidates contending for governorship seats in the Saturday, November 11, off-cycle elections in Bayelsa, Kogi, and Imo, respectively.
According to the list of candidates announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), no woman made the list of 18 governorship candidates in Imo State
In Kogi, one female candidate is featured against 17 males, while in Bayelsa State, only two women are contesting the election among 14 men.
Fatima Taiye Suleiman is the only female candidate out of the 18 people contesting the governorship election in Kogi State.
The 48-year-old Fatima, contesting under the Zenith Labour Party (ZLP), aims to become the first female governor of state.
Fatima, who is a fashion designer and politician from Okene, is the chairperson of fashion designers in the 21 local government areas, as well as the chairwoman of Women Initiative International.
Oguara Nengimonyo, contesting under the umbrella of the Action Democratic Party (ADP), is one of the two female gubernatorial candidates in Bayelsa.
Oguara is from Kolokuma/Opokuma Local Government Area of the state. She was the Democratic People’s Party’s (DPP) flag-bearer in 2019.
Kemelayefa Mercy Ogege, flies the flag of the Action Peoples Party (APP) in the election.
At 35, Kemelayefa is the youngest governorship candidate among the 16 contestants
Kemelayefa hails from Sagbama, and she is the president of the Ijaw Women of Substance Worldwide, a socio-cultural organisation in Nigeria.
She was an aspirant for the Bayelsa State House of Assembly.