Franca Afegbua

Apr 19, 2026 - 08:30
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Franca Afegbua

Added image, expanded infobox

← Previous revision Revision as of 02:58, 19 April 2026
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{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2023}}
{{Infobox politician
{{Infobox politician
| name = Franca Afegbua
| name = Franca Afegbua
| office = [[Senate of Nigeria|Senator]] for [[Mid-Western Region, Nigeria|Bendel North]]
⚫
| birth_date = 20 October 1943
| image = Franca Afegbua.png
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| death_date = 12 March 2023
| term_start = October 1983
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| birth_place = Okpella, Edo State
| term_end = 31 December 1983
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| profession = Politician
| party = [[National Party of Nigeria]]
⚫
| birth_date = 20 October 1943
⚫
| death_date = 12 March 2023
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| birth_place = [[Okpella]], Edo State, Nigeria
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| profession = {{hlist|Politician|beautician}}
}}
}}


'''Franca Afegbua''' (20 October 1943 – 12 March 2023) was a Nigerian [[Cosmetology|beautician]] and politician who represented [[Mid-Western Region, Nigeria|Bendel North]] in the [[Nigerian Senate]] in 1983. Elected as a [[National Party of Nigeria]] (NPN) senator, she was the first elected woman senator in Nigeria.{{cite news|last1=Gabriel|first1=Emameh|title=The Okpella demand from Edo people - Vanguard News|url=https://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/07/the-okpella-demand-from-edo-people/|location=Lagos, Nigeria|accessdate=4 February 2018|date=12 July 2015|newspaper=[[Vanguard (Nigeria)|Vanguard]]}}
'''Franca Afegbua''' (20 October 1943 – 12 March 2023) was a Nigerian [[Cosmetology|beautician]] and politician who represented [[Mid-Western Region, Nigeria|Bendel North]] in the [[Nigerian Senate]] in 1983. Elected as a [[National Party of Nigeria]] (NPN) senator, she was the first elected woman senator in Nigeria.{{cite news|last1=Gabriel|first1=Emameh|title=The Okpella demand from Edo people - Vanguard News|url=https://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/07/the-okpella-demand-from-edo-people/|location=Lagos, Nigeria|accessdate=4 February 2018|date=12 July 2015|newspaper=[[Vanguard (Nigeria)|Vanguard]]}}


Afegbua was born in [[Okpella]], [[Edo State]] in 1943{{cite news |title=Obaseki eulogises world’s first black female senator |url=https://www.vanguardngr.com/2019/12/obaseki-eulogises-worlds-first-black-female-senator/ |location=Lagos, Nigeria|access-date=12 March 2023 |date=8 December 2019|newspaper=[[Vanguard (Nigeria)|Vanguard]]}} and completed her post-secondary education in [[Sofia]], [[Bulgaria]]. Prior to the beginning of the [[Nigerian Second Republic|second republic]], she worked as a hairdresser in [[Lagos]] serving high-income clients. Afegbua had a close relationship with [[Joseph Tarka]], who introduced her to his party, NPN. In 1983, when she announced her intention to make a challenge for a senatorial seat in Bendel, few felt that she could win.
Afegbua was born in [[Okpella]], [[Edo State]] in 1943 and completed her post-secondary education in [[Sofia]], [[Bulgaria]].{{cite news |title=Obaseki eulogises world’s first black female senator |url=https://www.vanguardngr.com/2019/12/obaseki-eulogises-worlds-first-black-female-senator/ |location=Lagos, Nigeria|access-date=12 March 2023 |date=8 December 2019|newspaper=[[Vanguard (Nigeria)|Vanguard]]}} Prior to the beginning of the [[Nigerian Second Republic|second republic]], she worked as a hairdresser in [[Lagos]] serving high-income clients. Afegbua had a close relationship with [[Joseph Tarka]], who introduced her to his party, NPN. In 1983, when she announced her intention to make a challenge for a senatorial seat in Bendel, few felt that she could win.


Her party was in opposition and the incumbent governor and senator were respected men in the community. But Afegbua, who had won an international hairstyling competition in 1977, strategized that wooing more women to vote could give her a victory. Her victory in the hairstyling competition had made her name popular within her [[Etsakọ people|Etsako]] community; she targeted women voters, and, as her campaign gained steam, it was too late to curb. She won a slim victory in the August election, defeating John Umolu.{{cite web|last1=Keazor|first1=Emeka|title=Five Nigerian electoral case studies 1923-1983|url=https://www.slideshare.net/EdKeazor/five-nigerian-electoral-case-studies|accessdate=4 February 2018|date=25 March 2015}}
Her party was in opposition and the incumbent governor and senator were respected men in the community. But Afegbua, who had won an international hairstyling competition in 1977, strategized that wooing more women to vote could give her a victory. Her victory in the hairstyling competition had made her name popular within her [[Etsakọ people|Etsako]] community; she targeted women voters, and, as her campaign gained steam, it was too late to curb. She won a slim victory in the August election, defeating John Umolu.{{cite web|last1=Keazor|first1=Emeka|title=Five Nigerian electoral case studies 1923-1983|url=https://www.slideshare.net/EdKeazor/five-nigerian-electoral-case-studies|accessdate=4 February 2018|date=25 March 2015}}
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