2027 Women Candidates’ Participation, Visibility & Digital Safety Initiative

The Nigerian Women Trust Fund (NWTF), the Centre for Media and Society (CEMESO), the International Press Centre (IPC) and The Kukah Centre are collaborating to strengthen the participation, visibility and safety of women candidates contesting Nigeria’s 2027 General Elections. Through this joint initiative, the partners seek to address practical barriers to participation, improve candidates’ access to appropriate material and media support, and strengthen their ability to manage digital threats that can undermine their participation.

The four collaborating organizations invite applications from eligible female candidates contesting the 2027 General Elections for consideration under the 2027 Women Candidates’ Participation, Visibility & Digital Safety Initiative.

Women’s participation requires more than nomination alone: candidates need opportunities to communicate their leadership agendas, practical resources to engage voters, and protection from digital threats that may silence or push them out of the race. The joint initiative therefore brings together needs-based material support, media and visibility opportunities, and an optional pathway to digital-safety support. These elements are complementary parts of one approach to strengthening women candidates’ meaningful participation in the electoral process.

ABOUT THE JOINT INITIATIVE

Women candidates often encounter barriers that affect their ability to communicate their leadership agenda, engage with voters and achieve visibility during electoral campaigns. These may include limited access to campaign communication materials, media platforms and other practical resources.

The joint initiative will provide selected women candidates with targeted assistance based on demonstrated needs, available resources and the outcome of the assessment process. Support is intended to help candidates communicate with voters and participate meaningfully while taking account of privacy, consent and safety.

Support will bring together three practical support streams:

Material Support

Media & Visibility Support

Digital-safety Support

Applicants may request material support, media and visibility support, or both. They may also separately opt to be contacted about digital-safety support. Consent to a digital-safety referral is voluntary and will not affect assessment for material or media support.

The joint initiative is non-partisan. Support will be provided based on established eligibility and assessment criteria, not political party affiliation or ideology. The partners will seek to promote fair access across parties and will not endorse any individual candidate or political party.

How the support works together

The initiative is designed as a connected pathway rather than as separate projects. Material support can help address practical campaign-visibility needs; media support can create opportunities for candidates to communicate their experience, priorities and vision; and digital-safety support can help candidates respond to threats that may arise as their public profile grows. Candidates may access the support streams for which they are eligible and should not be required to accept public exposure as a condition of seeking other appropriate support.

Joint implementation and learning

NWTF, CEMESO, IPC and the Kukah Centre will collaborate in implementing the initiative. The support streams are intended to reinforce one another without duplicating assistance: material and media support will address candidates’ practical visibility needs, while the digital-safety pathway will address threats that may affect their ability to participate. Subject to consent, confidentiality and appropriate data protection, monitoring information may be used in anonymized form to improve understanding of the barriers women candidates face after nomination, including digital attacks and response needs.

OBJECTIVES

The initiative aims to:

Address practical barriers affecting women's participation in the 2027 electoral process.

Improve women's access to appropriate campaign communication and visibility resources.

Support women candidates to communicate their leadership priorities and policy agendas effectively.

Expand opportunities for women candidates to engage with voters and constituents.

Strengthen the visibility of women as participants in Nigeria's democratic and electoral processes.

Promote inclusive participation in electoral politics without endorsing any individual candidate or political party.

WHO CAN APPLY?

Applications are open to female Nigerian citizens who are duly nominated candidates for elective office in the 2027 General Elections.

Applicants must:

Be a Nigerian woman.

Be a duly nominated candidate for the 2027 General Elections.

Contest an elective position recognized under the applicable electoral framework.

Demonstrate an active and legitimate campaign or voter-engagement effort.

Demonstrate a specific need for material or media visibility support.

Provide accurate information and supporting documentation.

Be willing to comply with the requirements of the initiative.

Be willing to participate in reasonable monitoring and documentation activities associated with the support received.

Eligible positions may include:

Presidential

Governorship

Senatorial

House of Representatives

State House of Assembly

CATEGORIES OF SUPPORT

Applicants may be considered for material support, media and visibility support, or both, depending on demonstrated need and the assessment outcome.

MATERIAL SUPPORT

Selected candidates may receive targeted unbranded material support to address identified visibility needs.

Depending on available resources and the outcome of the assessment, support may include:

T-shirts

Face caps

Hijabs

The joint initiative will not provide cash campaign financing.

MEDIA & VISIBILITY SUPPORT

Selected candidates may receive opportunities designed to increase their visibility and enable them to communicate their leadership agenda to voters and the wider public. These opportunities form the media and visibility stream of the joint initiative.

Depending on availability and suitability, support may include:

Radio interviews

Television appearances

Candidate profile features

Social media visibility

Candidate profile videos

Professional photography

Media engagement opportunities

Issue-based conversations

Other appropriate media and communication opportunities

Media support will focus on enabling candidates to communicate their leadership experience, policy priorities, constituency issues and vision.

Digital-Safety Referral

As part of the joint initiative, Women in the Race Digital Clinic provides a complementary digital-safety pathway for declared women candidates. It focuses on digital threat response and legal rights defense rather than general campaign or communications training.

The clinic is designed to include a briefing informed by CEMESO’s Real-Time Gendered Disinformation Tracker; practical guidance on account security and evidence preservation; information on legal remedies relating to online harassment, impersonation and defamation; and an individual Digital Shield Action Plan covering candidate accounts, campaign-team devices and rapid-response contacts. Participants are also intended to have access to a help-desk, weekly threat alerts and an encrypted peer channel during the 2027 election period, subject to operational arrangements.

Clinic referrals and selection will be subject to eligibility, confidential intake and cross-party balance. The intended approach is that no single political party holds more than approximately one-third of places. Referral through the joint initiative does not guarantee selection or admission to the clinic.

Only shortlisted applicants will be contacted. Submission of an application does not guarantee selection or support.

The collaborating partners reserve the right to verify information provided in applications and to withdraw support where material misrepresentation or misuse of approved support is established.

Minimum qualifications

BA/BSc/HND

How to apply

Interested and qualified? Go to Nigerian Women’s Trust Fund (WF) on forms.gle to apply

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