Ministers from ECOWAS member states have called for sweeping electoral reforms, stronger legal frameworks and increased financing to enhance women’s political participation across West Africa, insisting that the region must move beyond commitments to concrete action on gender parity.

The call was made on Friday at a ministerial press briefing during the West Africa Women’s Political Leadership Forum in Abuja, where ministers and regional leaders outlined measures to implement the ECOWAS Declaration on Women’s Political Participation and Leadership and remove barriers preventing women from seeking and holding elective office.

Nigeria’s Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Hon. Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim, said the forum was designed to transform longstanding commitments into measurable action across the region.

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“The issues of equality and parity are no longer about emotions or advocacy alone. They are about national development and economic empowerment,” she said.

According to the minister, the Abuja Action Agenda focuses on translating political commitments into national and regional actions by promoting sustainable financing for women seeking political office, eliminating violence against women in politics, strengthening women’s leadership during democratic transitions and ensuring young women are not excluded from political participation.

She said Nigeria’s ongoing reforms align with those objectives through institutional strengthening, women’s economic empowerment and governance reforms.

“We cannot achieve sustainable development while women remain excluded from the decisions that shape public investment, policy, social protection, peace…