Enugu Women Groups Push for Female Senator in Enugu North Bye-Election

Women groups in Enugu State are urging Governor Peter Mbah and political stakeholders to support the emergence of a female senator in the upcoming Enugu North senatorial bye-election.

Speaking in Enugu on Monday under the platform known as Women Gather, the group’s coordinator, Ambassador Onyi Joy Mamah, said women in the district want the vacant seat filled by a candidate who can advance gender inclusion in the National Assembly.

The seat became vacant after the death of Senator Okey Ezea, who represented Enugu North. Mamah said the bye-election offers what she described as a major opening to correct the continued under-representation of women in elective office in the state.

She said that since the return to democratic rule in 1999, no woman from Enugu State has emerged as senator in any of the three senatorial districts. She added that women also remain few in the state legislature, pointing to the current House of Assembly where only two members are women.

Mamah said the group expects support from Governor Mbah based on previous engagement during advocacy around reserved seats and the 35 per cent affirmative action demand. She said Mbah has shown understanding of gender advocacy and should help create conditions for a viable female candidacy in Enugu North.

According to her, women are often closest to the economic and social pressures affecting households and can bring that experience to legislative work. She said mothers understand poverty and family hardship directly, and that perspective should be reflected in representation.

Mamah, who is also Executive Director of Heroin Women Foundation, said women in Enugu North have the capacity to represent the district in the Senate if given fair backing by parties, community leaders and voters.

She appealed to political actors across the district to align behind a female candidate, saying the move would give women a stronger sense of belonging in Enugu’s political space. She said the group is ready to work with all stakeholders ahead of the bye-election and insisted that women will not disappoint the district if entrusted with the mandate.