It is not a new wave for Nigerian celebrities to receive political appointments, especially from their state governments. However, in a country like Nigeria where female participation in politics is relatively low, it is important to pay attention to the females who have made it onto the political scene.
Here are six Nigerian female celebrities that received political appointments:
Onyeka Onwenu:
She was appointed by the former Imo State governor, Ikedi Ohakim, as the Chairperson of Imo State Council for Arts and Culture during his tenure between 2007 – 2011. She was later appointed by President Goodluck Jonathan as the Executive Director/Chief Executive Officer of the National Centre for Women Development on 16 September 2013.
Nkiru Sylvanus:
When Rochas Okorocha became the Governor of Imo State in 2011, he appointed Nkiru as his Special Assistant on Lagos State Affairs. After a while, she became his Special Adviser on Public Affairs. In 2014, she was then appointed as the Director-General of the Imo State Film Academy.
Hilda Dokubo:
She was appointed as the Special Adviser to the former governor of Rivers State, Peter Odili in 2003 till the governor left office in 2007. She has stayed out of the political scene since then.
Kate Henshaw:
After she lost the House of Representatives primaries in 2014, she was compensated by the People’s Democratic Party. In 2015, She was appointed by the governor of Cross Rivers State, Governor Benedict Ayade as his Special Adviser – Liaison, Lagos.
Ini Edo:
In 2016, Ini Edo was given a political appointment by the governor of Akwa-Ibom state, Governor Udom Gabriel Emmanuel. She is still serving as the Special Assistant to Akwa Ibom State governor on culture and tourism.
Mercy Johnson – Okojie:
In 2017, the current governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello appointed Mercy Johnson as his Senior Special Assistant on entertainment, arts and culture. The actress has said that she would not be going into partisan politics as she feels she already has enough influence as a filmmaker and an appointee.
Celebrities like Onyeka Owenu, Bukky Wright, Muma Gee and Kenny Saint-Brown actively tried to launch their political careers. However, none of them ever won their elections. We hope that more female celebrities will yield the call to serve their communities and leverage their influence to get positions that matter.
If you could pick any female celebrity to represent your interests in politics, who would you pick?
