Women Rights Groups Condemn Impeachment Of Sagbama Council Chairman

The Women for 35% Initiative of the Aju Morgan Elumelu Foundation has joined several other pro-women and rights groups to condemn the “purported impeachment” of Mrs. Alice Tangi Allen, chairman of Sagbama local government area in Bayelsa State.

Also, women’s rights advocate and deputy national chair of the Young Progressives Party (YPP), Amb. Nana Aisha Mahmoud, called for fairness, due process and the protection of women’s political rights.
She argued that the treatment of women in political leadership sends a wider message to millions of Nigerian women seeking to participate in governance.

Allen was recently impeached over alleged gross misconduct. The pro-women groups, however, alleged that the action was politically motivated and carried out by Governor Douye Diri, using the Bayelsa State House of Assembly as a smokescreen.

The foundation, which hold a protest in Abuja, yesterday, against the impeachment, described the purported impeachment of Allen — the only female local government chairman in the state — as a coup against the constitution, the rule of law and a court of competent jurisdiction. It also called it an open declaration of war against women, whose sole elected chairman was forcibly removed solely because she refused to follow Governor Diri in defecting to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

In a statement signed by Amb. Aju Elumelu, founder of the AJU Morgan Elumelu Foundation and convener of the Women for 35% Initiative, the group said:

“This development is deeply troubling, particularly given the events and reports that have surrounded her since the political transition in the state.

“Hon. Mrs. Alice Tangi Allen was elected under the platform of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and sworn into office on May 29, 2024. She received a mandate from the people of Sagbama Local Government Area to serve them, and we believe that mandate deserves to be respected.”

With barely eight months left in her tenure, Elumelu questioned why those seeking Allen’s seat could not wait to challenge her at the ballot box.

“For some time now, we have been hearing disturbing stories and reports about Hon. Mrs. Allen allegedly being pushed around, intimidated, pressured and subjected to political harassment because of her refusal to defect from the PDP to the All Progressives Congress (APC). We did not rush to make public statements. We watched. We listened. We patiently followed the situation to see how it would unfold, hoping that reason, dialogue and respect for democratic principles would prevail,” the statement said.

The group had hoped the matter would be resolved without public confrontation. Instead, it culminated in Allen’s impeachment. Elumelu noted that, despite protests by rights groups and individuals calling for restraint and fairness, the state government — acting through the House of Assembly and the legislative council — refused to reconsider what she described as a “less-than-altruistic plot” to remove the council chairman.

“Even more disturbing,” Elumelu added, “are reports that someone else has now been secretly sworn in as Acting Chairman of Sagbama Local Government Area, Hon. Diepreye Rosline Yankee, who was elected as the Councillor and Leader of the House.”

Yankee is also a defendant in a related suit at the High Court of Bayelsa State. A judge issued a subsisting order for stay of action on August 10, 2026. The case was scheduled for hearing on August 20 before the defendants purportedly impeached Allen, the complainant.

The women rights group said the latest development raises serious concerns:

“If an elected Local Government Chairman can be pressured to abandon the political party under which she was elected and subsequently face impeachment after refusing to do so, and if another person can then be secretly sworn in to occupy the position, then we must ask ourselves: What does this mean for the future of democracy and women’s participation in politics in Nigeria?

“Hon. Mrs. Alice Tangi Allen is not merely a politician. She represents one of the very few women who have successfully broken through the enormous barriers that continue to keep women out of political leadership.

“She is the only woman among the eight elected Local Government Chairmen in Bayelsa State. That fact alone should concern every person who genuinely believes in women’s inclusion in governance.

“For years, women have been encouraged to come forward, contest elections, seek leadership positions and participate actively in politics. But what happens when a woman actually wins? What happens when she refuses to be politically intimidated? What happens when she chooses to exercise her political freedom and remain with the party under which she was elected? Must the price of a woman remaining in political leadership be intimidation, humiliation and eventual removal?”

The statement continued:

“Women for 35% cannot remain silent. Our campaign is not about supporting one political party against another. It is about protecting women’s participation in democracy. It is about ensuring that women who win elections are allowed to serve their mandates without being subjected to political coercion.

“We therefore condemn, in the strongest possible terms, any act of intimidation, harassment, coercion or political victimization against Hon. Mrs. Alice Tangi Allen or any other woman in public office.

“We call on all relevant authorities, democratic institutions, civil society organizations, women’s organizations and defenders of democracy to pay close attention to what has happened in Sagbama and to ensure that the rights and dignity of elected officials are protected.

“We also urge all parties involved to pursue every available constitutional and legal avenue to address this matter peacefully and transparently.

“The struggle for 35% affirmative action is not simply about getting women into political offices. It is about creating a political environment where women can enter, remain, lead and complete their mandates without intimidation or discrimination.

“We will continue to ask: Why are there so few women in political leadership? And when the few who make it there are allegedly pushed around, pressured and eventually removed, what message are we sending to the next generation of women who want to lead?

“Hon. Mrs. Alice Tangi Allen deserves the right to have her case treated fairly, transparently and in accordance with the law.

“Women for 35% stands with every woman who dares to lead. We will not be silent when women are intimidated for exercising their democratic rights. We will not stop demanding a political system where women are not merely allowed to contest, but are respected when they win.

“Women must not only be given a seat at the table. They must be allowed to remain at the table.”

Speaking on the issue, Mahmoud said Nigeria must examine what happens after a woman wins an election and whether her mandate, dignity and independence are adequately protected. She stressed that the 35 per cent affirmative-action demand must go beyond a numerical target to guarantee access, opportunity, representation, protection and the freedom of women to lead with dignity. “Representation without protection is incomplete,” she said, adding that women should neither be placed above the law nor left beneath its protection.

On the circumstances involving Allen, Mahmoud cautioned against prejudging matters that properly belong before competent institutions. She demanded that every allegation be thoroughly examined, all parties be heard and due process be allowed to prevail. If injustice has occurred, she said, justice must correct it. Her advocacy, she emphasised, is for Allen’s right to fairness, due process and dignity — not preferential treatment.

She urged women to stand for one another regardless of political affiliation, insisting that justice should not depend on whether the woman involved belongs to the PDP, APC, YPP or any other party. Mahmoud further called on Nigerians to reject the intimidation and political silencing of women, saying democracy must protect not only the powerful but also those without money, connections or political machinery.

She urged Nigerian men to support women as partners in nation-building and declared that protecting women’s rights is an investment in Nigerian democracy. “This is bigger than Alice Tangi Allen,” she said. “It concerns the kind of democracy Nigeria will hand down to future generations — one where courage is rewarded, leadership is protected, justice is impartial and being a woman is never treated as a political disadvantage.”