A new voters’ survey has challenged the long-held assumption that Nigerian voters are largely unwilling to elect women, youth and persons with disabilities, saying the bigger problem may lie in the limited opportunities given to these groups to emerge as candidates and gain visibility.
The survey, conducted by Invictus Africa, found that substantial numbers of voters are willing to support candidates from the three underrepresented groups ahead of the 2027 General Elections, but many said they had never voted for them because they were unaware that such candidates were on the ballot.
The Executive Director of Invictus Africa, Bukky Shonibare, disclosed the findings on Tuesday at the official launch of the organisation’s Voters’ Preference Survey (VPS) Series (Pre-Election, 2026).
The nationally representative survey covered 11,196 eligible voters across Nigeria’s 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
According to Ms Shonibare, the findings point to a need to move the national conversation away from simply asking why Nigerians are not voting for women, young people and persons with disabilities, to examining whether political parties are providing them with a fair opportunity to contest elections in the first place.
