Of the 108 elected Senators in Nigeria (excluding the late Senator Ifeanyi Ubah), only four are women, while the remaining 104 are men.
Female Senators constitute approximately four percent of the entire 10th Senate.
Political watchers have lamented the gross under representation of women in parliament.
In the 9th National Assembly, there were eight female Senators (7.3%) and 13 female Members of the House of Representatives (3.6%), which represents 4.5% of the entire Assembly.
The 10th Assembly has women occupying four out of 109 seats (2.7%) in the Senate and 17 out of 360 seats in the House of Representatives (4.7%), which represents 4.2% of the 469-member Assembly.
Therefore, after seven general election cycles since 1999, the number of women in the Senate has been under represented.
Here’s a full list of female senators in the 10th Senate:
- Ireti Heebah Kingibe (Senator, FCT, LP)
Kingibe was elected on the platform of the Labour Party (LP) representing the federal Capital Territory (FCT).
She studied at the University of Minnesota, United States where she acquired her Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) degree in Civil Engineering in the 1970s.
She first contested the FCT senatorial election in 2003 under the defunct All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP). She joined the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and, later, the All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2014.
She is a younger sister of Ajoke Mohammed, wife of former Head of State Murtala Mohammed.
Born 2 June, 1954 (69 years), she was married to a former Secretary-General of the Federation (SGF) Babagana Kingibe.
- Ipalibo Banigo (Senator, Rivers West, PDP)
Banigo, representing Rivers West on the platform of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), served as the first female Rivers Deputy Governor from 2015-2023, in the administration of Nyesom Wike.
She studied at the University College Hospital, Ibadan, Oyo State where she got her MBBS degree (Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery).
She obtained a Masters (M.Sc.) degree from Harvard University School of Public Health.
She had earlier held various important offices at the Rivers State Ministry of Health, during her service; she assumed the position of director of public health service, acting commissioner, director and permanent secretary.
- Idiat Oluranti Adebule (Senator, Lagos West, APC)
Adebule, representing Lagos West, under the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), served as Lagos Deputy Governor from 2015 to 2019.
Adebule, an educationist, holds a Doctorate degree from Lagos State University in Curriculum Studies.
Early in her career, she had worked as a junior lecturer at the Michael Otedola College of Primary Education in Lagos and Lagos State University.
She also served as a Commissioner in the Lagos State Post Primary Teaching Service Commission (PP-TESCOM), now Teachers’ Establishment and Pensions Office.
She was appointed and sworn in as Secretary to the State Government under former Governor Raji Fashola in July, 2011.
- Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan (Senator, Kogi Central)
She is a barrister and politician who is a member of the 10th Nigeria National Assembly representing Kogi Central Senatorial District since 2023.
Born to a Nigerian father and Ukrainian mother, Akpoti attended the University of Abuja (2000–2004) and graduated with a Bachelor of Laws. She proceeded to the Nigerian Law School and was called to the Nigerian bar in 2005. In 2011, she obtained her MBA in Oil and Gas management from the University of Dundee in 2012.
Before joining politics and campaigning for senate during the 2019 Kogi State gubernatorial election under the Social Democratic Party, she founded the Builders Hub Impact Investment Program (BHIIP).
In February 2025, Akpoti-Uduaghan accused Senate President Godswill Akpabio of sexual assault on Arise News.
Following her allegations, the Senate’s ethics committee headed by the Senate President rejected her accusations, citing procedural rule violations, and recommended her suspension.
Consequently, on March 6, 2025, she was suspended for six months, during which she will be barred from her office and have her allowances and security withdrawn. Akpoti-Uduaghan has filed a lawsuit against the Senate President, seeking ₦100 billion in damages.
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Source: The Nation
