Nigeria’s First Lady Senator Oluremi Tinubu, on Monday, said that although the constitution mandates those seeking public office to hold a minimum school certificate, women must pursue higher education to build the competence and capacity needed to hold office effectively.
She also advised women to build grassroots structures through community engagement to connect with their constituents, which most politicians overlook.
“I tell people that the minimum requirement to run for an office is just a school certificate. But what is good is to have a lot of education,” Mrs Tinubu told a gathering of state and zonal women leaders of the All Progressives Congress she hosted at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Her remarks come barely two weeks after the APC’s nationwide primaries, which saw several high-profile female lawmakers and aspirants lose their bids for the House of Representatives to their male counterparts.
The APC House of Representatives primaries held on May 16, 2026, produced several high-profile female casualties, including Miriam Onuoha of Okigwe North, Imo State, who failed to secure a return ticket after two terms in the legislature.
In Edo South, Senator Neda Imasuen lost to former House of Representatives member Omoregie Ogbeide-Ihama, making her one of the most prominent female casualties of the May 18 Senate primaries.
In Lagos, 12 women contested the House of Representatives primaries, representing only 15.4 per cent of the aspirants, below the party’s stated 35 per cent affirmative action target.
Addressing the party’s women leadership in Abuja, the First Lady, who represented Lagos in the Senate for three consecutive terms, cited her own political journey, emphasising the need to connect with constituents, build trust at the grassroots, and maintain those relationships after winning office.
She argued, “I have run elections not once, not twice, but thrice. I am the first woman to be in the Senate for three terms. I don’t sing my own praises, but I am a silent worker. I work seven days a week. I connect with the grassroots. I will hit my chest today to say I am the only woman who has ever done town hall meetings every quarter. I did that consecutively for a good eight years. I have documents to show for that.
“There are party structures that you have to acknowledge. Politics is not about gender; it’s about numbers to start with. That was why I started speaking about the special bill before it became very big.
“When you have something, use it to earn the respect of your people, the people who have voted for you. You have to connect with them. I tell some of my female leaders, ‘If I find it difficult to reach out to you, how do you want your constituents to reach out to you?’
Regarding grassroots engagement, she cited failures she had observed among women who won office and then lost touch with the people who put them there.
“Some people will come to the office and forget. Many women have never come to ask, ‘How did you do it?’ But me, I have mentors. So, to women, who is mentoring you?” Mrs Tinubu stated.
The First Lady added that grassroots engagement must go beyond mere appearance and manifest in tangible care.
According to her, “Politics is very, very sensitive. People come to our homes; we didn’t invite them, but when they come, we treat them well.
“The best caterer in Lagos is the person who caters for my food, and that is the food I give them. So I don’t give them trash. It is what I eat that I use to give them, it is not trash? These people matter, and they will go the long haul with you.”
She also called on state governors to provide buses for the APC women’s wing in their respective states.
She announced that buses funded by donations would be distributed to women’s zones, with each bus remaining in the custody of the zonal leader responsible for it.
On the economy and transport costs, she said the President’s road and rail infrastructure drive was a deliberate policy aimed at reducing the burden of expensive air travel on ordinary Nigerians.
“Flights are expensive everywhere in the world, even in America. That is why Mr President is doing the coastal roads and trying to build more rail lines. We continue to keep building,” she said.
The First Lady further urged the women to balance their political work with strong homes, saying, “You can do party work, but make sure you raise good children and a good family. All the restiveness we are seeing around us starts from the home. I played politics for twelve years and God still kept my home.”
Earlier, the party’s National Women Leader, Dr Mary Alile, disclosed that 17 newly elected state women leaders and four newly elected zonal women leaders had joined the party’s national structure.
