NBS: Women occupied only 13.73% of ministerial positions since 1999

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) says women still do not have equal access to decision making and power-sharing at all levels in the country.

NBS said this in its gender statistics bulletin for the first quarter of 2022, released on Sunday.

The report focuses on four key areas pertaining to women in Nigeria, including power and decision making, health, population and education.

According to the report, only 13.73 per cent of ministerial appointments were occupied by women since Nigeria returned to democracy in 1999.

On power and decision making, NBS said six women were presidential candidates in the 2019 elections, while 22 women were vice-presidential candidates.

During the same period, 67 men were presidential candidates, and 52 were vice-presidential candidates.

Regarding the 2019 governorship elections, 80 women were governorship candidates while 984 men contested for the same position in different states. The report added that 271 women vied as deputy governor in different states compared to 789 men.

At the senatorial level, 234 women contested for senatorial positions with 1649 men in 2019.

At the judiciary level, the report said 66 women were appointed as judges and other high-ranking judicial positions in 2020, compared to 138 men.

The report also stated that Nigeria has never had a female president or vice-president since its return to democracy in 1999.

Also, no woman has been appointed into the office of secretary to the government of the federation.

On ministerial appointments, it added that women have only occupied 13.73 percent of the ministerial positions, while their male counterparts have occupied 86.27 percent of all the slots.