The Governorship aspirant in Ogun State under the banner of All Progressives Congress (APC) ahead of the 2027 poll, Senator Iyabo Obasanjo has expressed optimism that ruling party’s reforms may finally crack Nigeria’s long-standing barrier against female governors.
Penpushing reports that she made this known on Monday during a visit to the party’s national secretariat in Abuja, Federal Capital Territory (FCT), establishing that her ambition around a broader political shift is a pointer to that fact, and she believes is already underway.
“But at the same time, at this current time, the APC is doing some fundamental things that are going to help women in politics. There’s the bill, fully supported by the APC, in which there will be reserved seats for women in the National Assembly’, she said.
Penpushing further reports that Obasanjo who position herself for a historic governorship bid, drawing from her academic background, linked women’s political participation to societal outcomes, particularly in healthcare.
“So that is a positive. I am a research professor, and I’ve looked at women in politics and how they affect health. My area was mostly health. I have also put myself in the ring to be nominated by the party as the governorship candidate for APC in Ogun State’, she stated
Penpushing also reports that the first female governorship aspirant ahead of next political dispensation anchoring her optimism on global precedents, pointed to East Africa’s experience with affirmative political structures.
“In the reserved seats, it’s very popular in East Africa, not so much in West Africa. Actually, the fact that Rwanda has the highest percentage of women in politics was due to reserved seats,” Obasanjo said.
Penpushing reports that the daughter of former President Olusegun Obasanjo explained that, that comparison, reinforces her confidence in the All Progressives Congress (APC’s) direction and her own chances.
“So, the APC’s push on that bill gives me the confidence that the APC is the party that will produce the first female governor in Nigeria that is elected in office,” she said.
Penpushing further reports that the governorship hopeful extended the argument beyond symbolism, emphasizing that merit and governance delivery remains the ultimate test.
“So, I believe that it is very possible that a woman will be governor in Nigeria and that this opportunity to break that glass ceiling. And my hope is that once I’ve done it, it will be the norm for women to contest and win’, she said.
‘Not all the time, because we will not win just because we’re women, but we will win because we’re the best candidates and we are delivering service to the people’, Obasanjo stated
Penpushing also reports that Obasanjo, recalling her record in public office, cited her tenure as Ogun State Commissioner for Health and her time in the Senate as the backbone of her political capital.
“If you know my efforts when I was Commissioner for Health, we did a lot of good things, and the goodwill from my time in the Senate and as Commissioner is what is making it so easy to mobilize for APC and to mobilize for my candidature for the gubernatorial ticket’, she said
Penpushing reports that she described her entry to the governorship race as deliberate rather than symbolic, stating that it is known that the country has never elected female governor and that she joined the race in full knowledge of that.
The Governorship aspirant of All Progressives Congress (APC) argued that public advocacy around the gender bill signals a turning point, adding, “with that push, that push has never been as strong as this, any time
‘I see billboards just telling the world, I see advertisements on TV just telling the world that this is a bill that must be passed. I am confident that if there’s a time for a woman to emerge, this is the time. So, as you know, we’ve never had an elected female governor in Nigeria, and I joined this race without knowledge, fully in the knowledge of that’, Obasanjo added
Penpushing further reports that Obasanjo positioning Ogun state as fertile ground for such a breakthrough, she invoked the state’s legacy of women’s activism, referencing figures like Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti and Madam Efunroye Tinubu.
“I’m also confident that if there’s a place that should emerge, it should be open states. Given our history of women activism, from Mrs. Ransom Kuti to Madam Tinubu, who moved from Abeka to Lagos to be a trader, women in our culture are strong and are given lots of responsibilities. So I am confident that this is the time’, she emphasised
Penpushing reports that in similar vein, Obasanjo used the political trajectory of President Bola Tinubu to argue for a redefinition of political longevity and service.
“And I’ll give the example of His Excellency, Ahmed Bola Tinubu. His Excellency was governor, ran for Senate, ran for governor, two terms. Left active politics was still helping people and doing things, but it was a way. And it did not contest for anything until this presidency, because he went back to running his businesses.”
Penpushing further reports that Obasanjo from that model, advocated a rotation-based approach to leadership, adding, this is how politics should be and that we should not have people staying in politics for 30 years.
The Ogun State All Progressives Congress(APC) Governorship aspirant emphasized that if it’s citizen politics, people should leave, give room for others, and should come back, and equally projected her own pathway, outlined a limited tenure philosophy.
Penpushing also reports that Obasanjo added that her hope is that she will be a two-term governor, that will leave and let other people come in and serve, and go on with her life, and balancing ambition with personal reflection, she admitted the decision to return to frontline politics was not without hesitation.
“I have done other things in my life that I feel, when they tried to get me to do this, my biggest concern was the hard work I had done in my other life that I had built, to a point where I was satisfied with it’, she stated
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