2023 Elections: All You Need To Know About Ojei Princess Chichi, Nigeria’s Only Female Presidential Candidate

Every election season, there has been a push for women to contest and be given a fair chance to win political offices in Nigeria. Although more women have stepped up in the 2023 elections, the United Nations Women Office disclosed that only 1,553 out of 15,307 politicians participating in the elections are women. Ojei Princess Chichi is one of those women.

The 44-year-old presidential candidate under the Allied People’s Movement (APM) is the Executive Director of Finance and Administration of Nuel Ojei Holdings. Nuel Ojei Holdings is a holding company for subsidiaries like automobile distribution; banking; insurance; construction and telecommunications; oil and gas; solid minerals; telecommunications; safety and security, as well as shipping and ship building.

Ojei earned a Bachelor of Business Administration from Northeastern University, Boston, United States, and thereafter got an MBA at the Regents Business School, London. The Delta State-born politician emerged as the presidential candidate after the party’s flagbearer, Yusuf Mamman Dantalle, stepped down for her as the party’s candidate.

Dantalle, the national chairman of APM, said he had taken the decision because the country’s situation needs the tenacity and wisdom of a woman.

“The situation in the nation today requires the competence, wisdom, versatility, tenacity of purpose, and political sagacity of a woman. APM presidential candidate is equal to the task and has the support of millions of our party members and supporters,” Dantalle said.

Currently, there are only 18 women out of over 360 members in the House of Representatives. In the Senate, out of its 109 Senators, only eight are women. Over the years, there has been calls for women to get involved in politics and run for offices, but the number remains significantly low even as political parties waive some fees for women obtaining nomination forms to run for office.

Some of those who choose to run for office have been subjected to sexual slurs.

Ojei who is the only woman among the 18 presidential candidates believes she has a high chance of winning the election considering the current demography of Nigerian women and youths who appear to be interested in women empowerment. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) reported that over 44 million voters which account for 47.5% of the 93.4 million registered voters are women.

“With the increased demographics of Nigerian women and youths, I stand a better chance of winning the people’s mandate against other candidates. As we approach one of the most historic general elections in the annals of Nigerian politics, it is no secret that the demographics of Nigerian women and youths have increased tremendously,” She said.