•Esther Nkem Okereke and Ada Okwori
Only two of the 18 presidential candidates cleared by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the January 2027 election are women.
They are Ada Okwori of the National Democratic Party (NDP) and Esther Nkem Okereke of the National Rescue Movement (NRM).
INEC published the final list of presidential and National Assembly candidates on September 12 in a document signed by its Secretary, Rose Oriaran-Anthony, reports The Nation.
The two women will contest against President Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC), former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Peter Obi of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, and other candidates.
The presidential and National Assembly elections are scheduled for January 16, 2027.
1. Ada Okwori, 48
Okwori, an Idoma from Benue State, founded the National Democratic Party and serves as its chairperson. Her running mate is Uchenna Anthony Chukwuemeka, also 48.
According to the party, INEC initially rejected its registration, prompting Okwori to seek legal redress. A Federal High Court subsequently directed the commission to register the party, which was done in March 2026.
Okwori emerged as the party’s presidential candidate through a consensus arrangement at its primary.
In an interview with Women News Today, she said the NDP would not serve as a platform for political godfathers. She also proposed that women should occupy at least 40 per cent of the party’s executive positions and candidate slots.
Okwori further pledged to allocate 15 per cent of the national budget to education if elected.
2. Esther Nkem Okereke, 43
Okereke, a Nollywood actress-turned-politician, was selected as the NRM’s presidential candidate through consensus at the party’s convention in Abuja on May 29.
The party said she was the only aspirant who met all constitutional requirements. Her running mate is Nasir Muhammed Sulaiman, 35.
Her campaign platform, known as the “ESTHER Agenda”, focuses on education, security, technology, housing, entrepreneurship and restitution.
She has pledged to take emergency measures in the education sector and address power supply.
Speaking in Abuja on June 12, Okereke said Nigeria’s democracy was “bleeding” amid poverty and insecurity.
In a July interview with TheCable Lifestyle, she said running her charity foundation without grants or external support convinced her that the country’s system needed to be fixed from the top.
She also said she did not consider women to be marginalised, but believed many were “scared to come out.”
