assessing the impact of social media as tools

for the campaign against vote buying

( Case Study Of Ilorin East L.G Electorate)

BY

ABDULGANIYU HALIMAT OLAWUMI

HND/23/MAC/FT/0212

A RESEARCH PROJECT SUBMITTED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF MASS

COMMUNICATION, INSTITUTE OF INFORMATION AND
COMMUNICATION TECNOLOGY KWARA STATE POLYTECHNIC,
ILORIN.

IN FULFILLMENT OF REQUIREMENT FOR THE AWARD OF HIGHER

NATIONAL DIPLOMA IN MASS COMMUNICATION

MAY, 2025.

31
 CERTIFICATION

This is to certify that this project work has been read and approved as meeting part of the
requirements of Mass Communication Department, for the award of National Diploma (ND)
in Mass Communication, Kwara State Polytechnic Ilorin.

__________________ _________________
MR. IBRAHEEM A.F Date
(Project Supervisor)

__________________ _________________
MR. OLUFADI Date
(Project Coordinator)

__________________ _________________
MR. OLOHUNGBEBE, F.T. Date
(Head of Department)

32
 DEDICATION

We dedicate this project work to ALMIGHTY GOD and our beloved parents for
their wholesome supports throughout the thick and thin of our National Diploma (ND)
program.

33
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

All praises, adoration and glorification are due to Almighty Allah the most gracious, the most
beneficent, the most merciful.

My sincere appreciate goes to my parent Mr. & Mrs. Abdullaginyu Ebamidupe for
their moral and financial support throughout my programme.

I give glory to Almighty God, who has given me the knowledge, wisdom and
understanding, and has made it possible for me to complete my HND program in this
institution, Kwara State Polytechnic, Ilorin.

I express my sincere gratitude to my supervisor Mr. Ibraheem A.F for his

understanding despite his busy and tight official schedule, he still found this research work
worthy of supervision.

I appreciate the effort of my amiable HOD Mr. Olohungbebe F.T and all the
lecturers in the department of mass communication for their great support to words this
programme.

Also my appreciate goes to all who have immensely contributed in one way or the
other to the successful completion of this programme. May God Almighty bless you all,
(Amen)

34
 ABSTRACT

Vote-buying is a contentious issue in contemporary discourse on the sustainability of

democratic development in Nigeria. This menace is gradually crippling electoral processes
and undermining the efforts of the electoral umpire in conducting competitive, free, fair, and
credible elections for the sustenance of democratic development in Nigeria. The study,
therefore, investigates the effects of vote-buying on the sustainability of democratic
development and good governance in Nigeria. It argues that vote-buying compromises the
well-being of the populace by entrenching bad governance and poor service delivery. The
study adopts reciprocal determinism theory to illustrate how the political environment and
bad governance are stimuli to consolidating the commercialization of Nigerian electoral
processes. The study adopts the documentary method for gathering data from secondary
sources and recommends institutionalization of a strong electoral management body to
enforce a stiff penalty for commercialization of the electoral system in Nigeria.

KEYWORDS: Vote-buying, democratic development, good governance, political stability.

35
 CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
Vote buying is the transactional process through which voters offer their votes for
sale and political parties or public office aspirants or their agents' bargain to buy the boats
from the sellers. It is synonymous with selling and buying goods and services in an open
market on agreed prices. Where competition is very high, the process seems to be auction
sales whereby the voters cell to the highest bidder. Modern scholars of social science and
humanities trace the historical origin of election and electoral processes in Nigeria with
emphasis on its fraught with vote-buying (cash-and-carry democracy), and other electoral
malfeasance, ethnic chauvinism, religious extremism, and politically motivated violence and
killings ( Onuoha & Okafor, Citation 2020; Adigun, Citation 209; Olaniyan Citation 2020;
Amao, Citation 2020; Oko & Onuoha, Onapajo et al., Citation 2015;Olorunmola, Citation
2016.). Onapajo et al. stress that " Nigeria's electoral process has always been known for its
chaotic nature and heart of this quagmire, is the predominance of the vote buying, a
phenomenon which arguably reflects the nature of politics and election" (2015, p 2). Amao
(Citation 2020) corroborates this assertion has is stresses that the electoral process in Nigeria
has frequently been identified for its corrupt, violent, and chaotic tendencies characterized by
the utilization of thugs, maiming of political opponents by those seeking electoral positions
through electoral fraud.

It is therefore not astonishing that virtually all the election organized in Nigeria
were marred by controversies, with their processes and outcomes facing crisis of integrity,
credibility and legitimacy. According to Onuoha and Okafor (Citation 2020), vote-buying, in
recent time, has risen in proportion, in scope, and sophistication as videos and images
uncover the illegal practice of distributing money, materials, and other incentives among the
electorates by political aspirants, party agents in order to lure voters to vote for their
candidates. Onwudiwe and Berwind -Dart (Citation 2010, p.1) opine that while African's
largest democracy prepares for the polls, serious questions remain about Nigerian's capacity
and political will to conduct free, fair and peaceful elections. Since independence in 1960,
violence and myriad irregularities have persistently marred the process of electing the
country's leaders, Nigerian politicians have become habituated to fraud, corruption,
intimidation and violence, as if they consider these the necessary weapons of political
winners. Olohunmola (Citation 2016) argues that money is considered a crucial factor for

36
political parties to run their affairs doing and between elections. Unregulated utilization of
resources, private or public, for political activities in capable of reversing the ethnics,
practices, and spNDIt of democracy; it confers undue advantages and improperly changes
choice to electorates.

The social networks of voters has been shown to facilitate political cooperation and
information transmission in established democracies. These same social networks, however,
can also make it easier for politicians in new democracies to engage in electoral strategies.
Uses survey data from the Philippines, this article demonstrates that individuals with more
friends and family ties are disproportionately targeted for vote buying. This is consistent with
the importance of other social factors identified in the literature such as reciprocity, direct ties
of politicians, and individual social influence. In addition, this article presents evidence
supporting an additional mechanism linking voter social networks to the targeting of vote
buying: social network-based monitoring. Voters with larger …

1.5 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

The significance of this study postulate the literature examining the effect of anti-
corruption information campaigns vote buying. Other campaigns exposing voters to non-
partisan information about the costs of voting for corrupt vote-buying candidates have used
village meeting (Banerjee et al., 2010, Blattmen et al., 2020) and door-to-door leaflet
distribution(Cruz et al., 2014). These campaigns are generally effective, but also rather
expensive and labor intensive. This study also contributes to the broader literature examining
the persuasion effects of political communication (Della Vigna and Gentzkow, 2019,
strömber, 2020), as well as the electoral effects of social media, such as Facebook, Twitter.
What kinds of messages are most likely to persuade voters to reject vote-buying politicians?
Schaffer (2007) argues that moralistic appeals, such as a urging voters to vote their
conscience rather than to sell their vote, maybe ineffective. Hypothesis that telling voters that
voting for vote buying’s is neither in their own non their community's economic interest
would be more effective. Accordingly, we design a radio campaign that emphasizes the trade-
offs candidates face in supplying public versus private goods.

1.6. SCOPE OF THE STUDY

The study hymns to examine the assessment of impact of social media as a tool for the
campaign against vote buying which adopts survey method to sample the opinion of the

37
selected population ilorin East electorates, through the use questionnaire techniques to gather
information on required on the research. However, the sample size of 50 electorates will be
selected through stratified and random sampling techniques

Social media has been used by Nations, organizations, and people all around the world to
attract voters' attention and increase public political engagement (Erubami, 2020). The ability
of social media in Nigeria to promote and amplify political engagement as also been amply
proved (Erubami, 2020). Politicians, political parties, the Independent national electoral
commission (INEC), and more lately, political movements (like the obedient movement), are
frequently seen doing general elections frantically attempting to engage with Nigeria via their
different social.

1.7. DEFINITION TERMS

 Candidates:-A person or subject nominated as suitable and credible to run for an

election in order to occupy a political position.
 Election:-This is the process of choosing a person for a political position in
government to represent the electorate of their constituency or ward.
 Political Campaign:-This is an organized effort which seeks to influence a decision-
making process within a specific group. Political campaigns often refer to electoral
campaigns.
 Social Media:-Social media is the term often used to refer to new forms of Media that
involve interaction participation. They are internet-mediated technologies that allow people
to connect with each other virtually.
 Vote Buying:-Vote Buying is a widespread phenomenon. It is usually viewed as a
purely economic exchange in which the voter sells is on her vote to the highest bidder.
 Political Participation:-Political participation refers to voluntary activities
undertaken by the mass public to influence public policy, either directly or by affecting the
selection of persons who make policies.
 Voting Behavior:-Voting Behavior pertains to the action of inactions of citizens in
respect of participating in the election that take place for member of their local, regional or
national governments.
 Politics:-Politics is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in
groups or other forms of power relations between individuals, such as the distribution of
resources or status.

38
 Electorate:- This Refers to the people who are eligible to vote in an election,
especially their number e.g the term size of the electorate.

39
 Well, it is a knowledge platform that provides the people with an ability to update their
views. It is basically an encyclopedia that is online and can be used and updated by anyone.
Also there is another example the form of Google Does that enables the people to edit and
share documents and that too online.

You will also be able to download and upload files with the help of these
collaborative tools which is known as social media as enable multiple users to take advantage
of a singular platform. Different individuals can collaborate in the most personalized and
result driven manner to get the expected outcome.

2.1.3 CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

Concept of Vote-buying in General Elections and Money Politics in Nigeria

The essence of vote-buying in general elections is to influence the voting behavior of

electorates and to swing the political pendulum towards the buyers' favour and actualization
of the ambition to secure victory in the elections. Vote-buying increases the election
enthusiasm and draws massive voter turnout for the money and/or material benefits. This
large turnout of voters for incentives has a significant effect on voting behavior (Nurdin,
Citation2014), not necessarily to vote but to collect the benefits and may abscond voting.
Money is a dominant, determinant factor in Nigeria's politics. The poor are vulnerable
segment of voters easily predisposed to be victimized, intimidated, and manipulated by vote-
buying because their limited means makes them susceptible to material inducements.
including offers of basic commodities or modest amounts of money or job procurements
(Abba &Babalola,Citation2017; Onapajo & Babalola, Citation2020). Baidoo et al.
(Citation2018,p.3) opine:
Theoretical perspectives have identified three dominant arguments to explain the
foundations of vote-buying in elections. First it is argued that socio-economic factors,
especially poverty, unemployment and illiteracy play a major role in promoting the market
for votes in democracies. Second, it is argued that the voting methods in a particular
electoral system may also guarantee the predominance of vote-buying during elections. The
third explanation is predicated upon the belief that vote-buying is a product of the nature of
partisanship and party organization in a particular state.

40
rate index revealed that 91,885,874 people in Nigeria live in extreme poverty occasioned by
unemployment and insecurity.

Unemployment rate in 2019 was 23.1% and forecast to rise to 33.5% in the year
2020.Nigeria was declared Poverty Capital of the World (World Poverty Clock 2018).
Illiteracy is the worst pestilent disease afflicting less educated voters. In 2018,illiteracy rate
was 30% of the population, which comprised 65 million Nigerians; and a survey on Nigeria,
conducted by the United Nations Children's Fund, indicates that the population of the out-of-
school children in Nigeria has risen from 10.5 million to 13.2 million in 2019,the highest in
the world(premiumtimesng.com;google.com).

2.1.5 Manifestation of Vote-Buying in Election Periods

Vote-buying has different connotations to different people or countries

depending on the people's history, culture, and political experience, and election
models. The concept of vote-buying does not have a conventional single universally
accepted definition. Etzioni-Halevy (Citation1989,p.287) sees the concept as "the
exchange of private material benefits for political support"; while Bryan and Baer
(Citation2005,p.4) conceptualized vote-buying as "the use of money and direct
benefits to innocence voters". The two definitions emphatically stressed the objective
of vote-buying which is to earn direct socio-economic benefits for political support of
voters in return. The basic underscore of the abstraction "vote-buying" is the emphasis
of exchanging voters' political rights for material benefits. Contextually, the material
benefits and political support are more significant and a centerpiece of the objective
of vote-buying.
2.1.6 Impact of Social as a Tool Against Vote Buying in an Election
Social media and political decision making young people consider the Internet as a
flexible medium for information seeking (Kim & Ellison, 2021), getting political news
updates, online political messaging for opinion expression, and political expression (Saleem
et al, 2021).According to (Heiss,2021),social media can help new voters decide whether or
not to vote in the general election. (Kim, 2021), on the other hand, emphasizes that increased
exposure to bad political topics or media Intern. Political participation among young people,
and it may also have an impact on various levels of political participation, whether active or
passive. According to (Fucks, 2021), social media has a substantial impact on people's voting
behavior in major and

41
 CHAPTER THREE

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Research design is a framework for action that serves as a bridge between research
questions and their execution of a research strategy.

According to Jenkins smith et al (2017) defined research design as the set of steps
taken to collect an analyze research data. Saunders, et al. (2012) Divine research design as a
plan hint at answering a specific research question. Polit et al. (2001) Defines research design
as the "research investigation in a logical and systematic way".

Design acceptance fact that research design is the basis plan that guide data connection
and the analysis phrase of any research work. The design of a research can be regarded as the
framework which specific the types of information to be gathered including the source of data
and the procedure used in collecting them. Research can be divine as an attempt to discover
something design however, refers to the whole method of technique used in gathering data.
Research design therefore entails to framework or general arrangement that is used in
collecting an analysis a set of data.

Therefore, on the basis of this study, the research design used for collecting the required
information is survey. Barble 1983-83 divine survey research as a research method used by
social scientists in collecting data for describing a population with large access of directly;
Osuala (1990.22) says "survey research focuses on their feature factors on people their future
facts, believe opinions, attitude motivation and behavior. He describe it as a non-
experimental description method. Moreso, the analysis of the data collected is based on
descriptive and inferential statistically tools formation data.

The primary and secondary data are source of information on influence of foreign
television on a dressing, habit of Nigeria youth.

42
3.2. POPULATION OF THE STUDY

Population is the entire group of people that the research is interested in, and to whom
the research results can be generalized. (Polit and Hungler (1999) et al,. According to
Creswell (2018) defines population as a group of individuals, objects or items that are used to
measure the sample. The study population chosen for this research was 204,310 in Ilorin East
L.G Electorate, Kwara State. There are 12 wards in Ilorin L.G, they are : Agbeyangi,
Gbadamu/Osi , Gambari I, Balogun Gambari ii, Marafa/People, Maya/Ile-Apa, Oke-oye/Oke,
Ose/ Alalubosa, Zango. The people chosen were those that are eligible to vote during
elections. Participants were only qualified if their age are 18 to 21.

3.3 SAMPLE SIZE AND SAMPLING TECHNIQUE

Sample size refers to the number of a participants or observations included in a

study. This number is usually percentage by n. The size of a sample influences two statistical
properties: 1) the precision of our estimates and 2) the power of the study to draw
conclusions.

Example size therefore, is 100, the sample consists of both male and female in order
to get appropriate results, the respondents we are selected on the basis of their department.
The researcher two sample random sampling chooses representative from the population and
making the whole sample size.

3.4. RESEARCH INSTRUMENT

Research instruments classes are designed to help students develop the ability to locate,
evaluate, and use information effectively.

According to CC Crawford defines research instruments "it starts with a problem, collect
data or fact, analysis these critically and beaches decisions based on the actual evidence.

According to "Martinez" research is a scientific process of critical selection of data,

investigation and analysis of such to gain new knowledge or to compliment an existing one.

3.5 VALIDITY AND RESEARCH OF THE INSTRUMENT

43
 Validity involves the appropriateness, meaningfulness, and usefulness of inferences
made by the researcher on the basis of the data connection ( Walllen & Fraenkel, 2001).
Validity and research of the study can be often be through of the instruments explain how
well the connected data covers the actual area of investigation ( Ghauri and Gronhaug, 2005).

The research techniques was adopted in ascertaining validity and reliability of the
research questionnaire. The research work was checked, validated and reliable from
supervisor. Therefore, the reason for the method chosen was to allow the participants to be
able to express themselves, give me the researcher the leverage of understanding what sort of
mobilization they are exposed to. Also, a comparison was being made between the findings
generated from the quantitative and qualitative study. It also created a wave of trust as the
participants we see this as a platform to express their opinion concerning the general election
in Nigeria.

44
 CHAPTER FOUR

DATA PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS

4.0 INTRODUCTION

This chapter focuses on data presentation observed from the distributed questionnaire.
The institutional characteristics and background of respondent to the questionnaire would be
considered. However, explanation of the element under consideration is grouped on the basis
of gender, age, marital status, education level, and occupation. The analysis is based on the
response of the respondents which contain reliable information on “assessment of the impact
of social media as a tool for the campaign against vote buying. The respondent of the
questionnaire are Ilorin East Local Government Electorate.

4.1 DATE PRESENTATION

According to okoro and NWafor (2013) data presentation is the process of organizing,
summarizing and usually representing data in a way that is easily understandable and
meaningful to the audience. It also refers to the organization and presentation of data into
table graph, chart etc. in Ilorin east local government electoral and it was distributed to 100
numbers of people. The questionnaire consists of three of sectors ( A, B, and C) of 20
questions which are relevant to this study.

Section A: ANALYSIS OF DEMOGRAPHIC SEGMENT

Table 1: Sex Distribution of respondent

Gender Number of respondent Percentages

Male 31 31%
Female 69 69%
Total 100% 100%
Source: research survey, 2025

Table 1 show that 31 respondents representing 31% are made while 69 respondents
representing 69% were female. This table shows that majority of the respondent are female.

45
Table 2: Age Distribution of respondent

Age Number of respondent Percentages

18-25years 62 62%
26-36 years 38 38%
Total 100% 100%
Source: research survey, 2025

Table 2 show that 62 respondent representing 62% fall within 18-25 years, 38 respondents
representing 38% fall within 26-35 years. This table shows that majority of the respondents
are within 18-25 years

Table 3: Occupation of the Respondent

Occupation Number of respondent percentages

Student 71 71%
Civil servant 14 14%
Self employed 15 15%
Total 100% 100%
Source: research survey, 2025

Table 3 shows that 71 respondents representing 71% are students, 14 respondents

representing 14% are will servant while 15 respondents representing 15% were self
employed. This table shows that majority of respondents are student.

Table 4: Marital Status of the Respondent

Married status Number of respondent percentages

Single 70 70%
Married 29 29%
Divorced 1 1%
Total 100% 100%
Source: research survey, 2025

Table 4 shows that 70 respondents representing 70% are single, 29 respondnets representing
29% while 1 respondent 1% is divorced. This shows that majority of the respondent were
single.

46
Table 5: Religion of the Respondent

Religion Number of respondent percentages

Islam 31 31%
Christian 69 69%
Other - -
Total 100% 100%
Source: research survey, 2025

Table 5 show that 75 respondent representing 75% are Islam while 25 respondent
representing 25% are Christian. This table shows that majority of the respondent are Islam.

Table 6: Education Qualification of the Respondent

Educational Qualification of Number of Respondent Percentages

the Respondent
SSCE/WAEC 40 40%
NCE/OND 21 21%
B.SC/HND 39 39%
TOTAL 100 100%
Source: research survey, 2025

Table 6 shows that 40 respondent 21% are NCE/OND while 39 respondents representing
39% are B.sc/HND. This table shows that majority of the respondents are SSCE/WAEC

Section B: RESEARCH QUESTIONS

Table 7: How frequently do you use social media?

Responses Frequency Percentages

Multiple times a day 69 69%
Once a day 23 23%
A few times a week 8 8%
Total 100% 100%
Source: research survey, 2025

Table of shows that 69 respondents representing 69% are multiple times a day, 23
respondent representing 23% are once a day while 8 respondents representing 8% are a few

47
times a week. This table shows that 69 respondents representing 69% usually use social
media.

Table 8: How much time do you spend Social Media per day on average?

Responses Frequency Percentages

Less than 30 minutes 32 32%
30 minutes to 1 hours 15 15%
1 to 2 hours 38 38%
Total 100% 100%
Source: research survey, 2025

Table 8 shows that 32 respondent representing 32% are less than 30 minutes to 1 hour, 38
respondent representing 38% 1 to 2 hours while 15 respondents representing 15% were more
than 2 hours. This table shows that 38 respondents representing 38% dout mostly spend much
on social media per day on average.

Table 9: Do you think social media content influences campaign against vote buying?

Responses Frequency Percentages

Yes significantly 77 77%
Yes, to some extent 23 23%
No, not at all - -
Not sure - -
Total 100% 100%
Source: research survey, 2025

Table 9 shows that 77 respondents representing 77% say yes, significantly while 23
respondents representing 23% say yes, to some extent. This table shows that majority 77
respondents representing 77% say yes, significantly.

48
Table 10: Have you come across social media content on vote buying?

Responses Frequency percentages

Yes, frequently 63 63%
Yes, occasionally 35 35%
No, never 2 2%
Total 100% 100%
Source: research survey, 2025

Table 11: Do you believe social media handles contribute to the special of vote buying in
politics?

Responses Frequency percentages

Yes, definitely 68 68%
Yes, to some extent 32 32%
No not at all - -
Not sure - -
Total 100% 100%
Source: research survey, 2025

Table 11 shows that 68 respondents representing 68% say yes, definitely while 32
respondents representing 32% say yes, to some extent. The table shows that the majority of
the respondents were 72 respondents were 72 respondent who say yes, definitely.

SECTION C:

TABLE 12: social media has emerged as a powerful tool in the campaign against vote
buying

Responses Frequency Percentages

Strongly agreed 48 48%
Agreed 52 52
Neutral - -
Disagree - -
Strongly disagree - -
Total 100% 100%
Source: research survey, 2025

49
Table 12 shows that 52 respondents representing 52% agreed while 48 respondents
representing 48% 0 strongly agreed. This means that majority of the respondents agreed that
social media was emerged as a powerful tools in the campaign against vote buying

Table 13: Social Media enables the public to hold politicians, candidates, and electoral
processes accountable by exposing instances of vote buying

Responses Frequency Percentages

Strongly agreed 44 44%
Agreed 52 52%
Neutral 4 4%
Disagree - -
Strongly disagree - -
Total 100% 100%
Source: research survey, 2025

Table 13 shows that 44 respondents representing 44% strongly agreed, 52 respondents

representing 52% agreed while of respondents representing 4% were neutral. The table shows
that majority of the respondents agreed that social enables the public to hold politicians,
candidates, and electoral processes accountable by exposing instance of vote buying.

Table 14: Social media platforms provide a space for grassroots activities civil society
organization and concerned citizen to connect, collaborate and mobilize against vote
buying

Responses Frequency Percentages

Strongly agreed 46 46%
Agreed 52 52
Neutral 2 2%
Disagree - -
Strongly disagree - -
Total 100% 100%
Source: research survey, 2025

Table 14 shows that 46 respondent representing 46% strongly agreed, 52 respondents

representing 52% agreed while 2 respondents representing 2% neutral. This means majority
of the respondents agreed that social media plant forms provide a space for grassroots

50
activates, civil society organizations, and concerned citizens to connect, collaborate and
mobilize against vote buying.

Table 15: social media empowers citizen journalists, capturing and sharing evidence of
vote buying attempts or incidents.

Responses Frequency Percentages

Strongly agreed 39 39%
Agreed 55 55%
Neutral 6 6%
Disagree - -
Strongly disagree - -
Total 100% 100%
Source: research survey, 2025

Table 15 shows that 39 respondents representing 55% agreed. While 6 respondents

representing 6% are neutral. This table shows that majority of the respondent agreed that
social media empowers citizen to become citizen journalist, capturing and sharing evidence
of vote buying attempt or incident

Table 16: social media has the potential to engage and mobilize a broader range of
citizens; including young voters who are active on digital platforms.

Responses Frequency Percentages

Strongly agreed 47 47%
Agreed 53 53%
Neutral - -
Disagree - -
Strongly disagree - -
Total 100% 100%
Source: research survey, 2025

Table 16 shows that 47 respondents presenting 47% strongly agreed, while 53 respondents
representing 47% strongly agreed. This table shows majority respondents agreed that, media
has the potential to engage and mobilize a broader range of citizen including young voters
who are active on digital platforms.

51
Table 17: Social Media serves as a powerful tool for sharing information, resources and
education content related to vote buying.

Responses Frequency percentages

Strongly agreed 54 54%
Agreed 46 46
Neutral - -
Disagree - -
Strongly disagree - -
Total 100% 100%
Source: research survey, 2025

Table 17 shows that 54 respondents representing 46% agreed. This table shows that the
majority of the respondents strongly agreed that social media serves as a powerful tool for
sharing information, resources and education content related to vote buying

Table 18: Social Media platforms facilitates digital activism initiative such as online
petition awareness campaign and the use of hash tags to support the campaign against
vote buying.

Responses Frequency percentages

Strongly agreed 54 54%
Agreed 44 44%
Neutral 2 2
Disagree - -
Strongly disagree - -
Total 100% 100%
Source: research survey, 2025

Table 18 shows that 54 respondents representing 54% strongly agreed, respondents

representing 44% agreed while 2 respondents representing 2% were neutral.

The majority of the respondents strongly agreed that social media platforms facilitate digital
activism initiatives such as online petitions, awareness campaigns and the use of hashtag to
support the campaign against vote buying

52
Table 19 : Social Media can serve as a monitoring tools, allowing users to report
instances of vote buying or suspicious electoral activities.

Responses Frequency percentages

Strongly agreed 49 49%
Agreed 51 51
Neutral - -
Disagree - -
Strongly disagree - -
Total 100% 100%
Source: research survey, 2025

Table 19, shows that 49 respondents representing 51% agreed. The majority of the
respondents agreed that social media can serve as a monitoring tools, allowing users to report
instances of vote buying or suspicious electoral activities.

Table 20: The spread of misinformation and disinformation on social media poses a
challenge to the campaign against vote buying .

Responses Frequency percentages

Strongly agreed 47 47%
Agreed 53 53%
Neutral - -
Disagree - -
Strongly disagree - -
Total 100% 100%
Source: research survey, 2025

Table 20 shows that 47 respondents representing 44% strongly agreed, while 53 respondents
representing 53% agreed. The majority of the respondent agreed that there is a perception that
social media may in advertently exacerbate the digital divide, which can limit its
effectiveness as a mobilization tool for all youth.

4.2 ANALYSIS OF RESEARCH QUESTIONS.

These are the analysis of research questions used in the research work that produces the
expected outcome of the work done.

53
Research question one

What are the effectiveness of social media campaigns in creating awareness about the
consequence of vote buying? In relation to table 12 it shows that 52 respondent representing
(52%) agreed while 48 respondent representing (48%) strongly agreed. This means that
majority of the respondents agreed that social media has emerged as a powerful tools in the
campaign against vote buying and also confined the effectiveness of social media campaign
against vote buying.

RESEARCH QUESTION TWO

What are the role of social media in mobilizing communities against vote buying? In
relation to table 14 it shows that vote buying? In relation to table 14 it shows that 52
representing (46%) Strongly agreed while 2 respondents representing (2%) are Neutral. This
actually explained that majority of the respondents agreed that social media platforms provide
a space grassroots activities, civil society organization and concerned citizens to connect,
collaborate, and mobilize against vote buying.

RESEARCH QUESTION THREE

What are the impact of social media in fostering a sense of civil respondent and
accountability? Table 19 explained the fostering of civil responsibility of electoral activities,
49 respondents representing (49%) strongly agreed while 51 respondent representing (51%)
agreed.

The majority of the respondents agreed that social media can served as a monitor tool,
allowing users to report instances of vote buying or luscious electoral activities.

RESEARCH QUESTION FOUR

How social media can be employed as a powerful instrument in the campaign against
vote buying? In relation to stable 11 shows that 68 respondents representing (68%) say yes,
definitely while 32 respondents representing (32%) say yes, to some extent. The table shows
that the majority of the respondents were 68 respondents representing (32%) say yes, to some
extent. The table shows that two majority of the respondents were 68 respondents who say
yes, because they believe that social media platforms facilitate digital activities initiatives,
such as online petitions, awareness campaigns, and the use of hash tags to support the
campaign against vote buying.

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4.3 DISCUSSION OF FINDING

The purpose of this study is to examine assessment of the impact of social media as a
tool for the campaign against vote buying. The result obtained in the statistical analysis was
used to provide an answer to this research study to provide an answer to this study. Definite
question were asked in the questionnaire to generate answer each of the question passed in
this study. Hundred (100) questionnaire were administrated to the respondents and all the
copies of the questionnaire were returned.

The first research question show in table 12, what are the effectiveness of social
media campaigns in creating awareness about the consequences of vote buying? In relation to
table 12 it shows 52 respondents representing 52% agreed while 48 respondent representing
(52%) agreed. This means that majority of the respondents agreed that social media has
emerged as a powerful tool in the campaign against vote buying and also confirmed the
effectiveness of social media campaign against vote buying.

The second research question show in table 14. What are the role of social media in
mobilizing communities against vote buying? In relation to table 14 its shows that 52
respondents representing (52%) agreed, 46 respondents representing (46%) strongly agreed
while 2 respondents representing (2%) are neutral. This actually explained that majority of
the respondents agreed that social media platforms provide a space for grassroots activities,
civil society organizations, and concerned citizens to connect collaborate, and mobilize
against vote buying.

The analysis finding in table it shows that 69 respondents representing (69%) multiple
times a day 23 respondents representing (23%) are once a day while 8 respondents
representing (8%) are a few times a week. This table shows 69 respondent representing 69%
usually use social media. The third research question show in table 19 what are the impact of
social media in fostering a sense of civic responsibility and accountability? Table 19
explained the fostering of civic responsibility of electoral activities, 49 respondent
representing (51%) agreed. The majority of the respondents agreed that social media can
serve as a monitoring tool, allowing users to report instances of vote buying or suspicious
electoral activities.

The fourth research questions convey information in table 11 shows 68 respondents

representing 68% say yes, definitely while 32 respondent representing 32% say yes, to some

55
extent. The table shows that the majority of the respondents were 68 respondents who say
yes, because they believe that social media platforms facilitate digital activities initiatives,
such as online petitions, awareness campaigns, and the use of hash tags to support the
campaign against vote buying. Table 15 shows that 39 respondents representing 39 %
strongly agreed 55 respondents representing 55% agreed, while 6 respondents representing
6% are Neutral. The majority of the respondents agreed that social media empowers citizens
to become citizen journalist, capturing and sharing evidence of vote buying attempts or
incidents.

The consequence of these findings is that the social media has changed the landscape
of citizenship and leadership, mobilization, governance and politics and the way people can
bold their leaders accountable. This conforms to Olley and Ekwaraefo (2023, p.46). assertion
that “ Nigerian government and political office holders must be conscious of the corporeity of
the people to galvanize themselves into action using social media tools’. Youths, who engage
actively in social media, have moved from the level of just entertainment and interaction with
family and friends, to that of involving actively in issues relation to polities, governance
leadership, corruption and security.

The social media’s where potentials provide for great freedom of expression,
submission of ideas, surveillance of the political/governance sphere to identify those who are
being involved in negative acts and through public outery, expose them. Many times outery
against public office holders has led to such cases being investigated and offenders
sanctioned in different ways. Another important findings from the research is the fact that
though, many people can get involved in live demonstrations or activities remains a powerful
tool for political participation. This potential to participate in societal issues through the
social media of course, may only be applicable to those who have access to communication
facilitates. That is, the issue of digital divide still exists, and youth in the rural areas may still
be passing through situations that the social media may have no impact on because they lack
the access and empowerment. Given the ever changing nature of internet communication it is
necessary to conduct more research in this area to find out it affects the dynamics of the
society in different ways. In relation to and socio-political issue and vote buying, there is still
need to see how more people can be made to move their campaign from the internet, and on
to the street.

56
 CHAPTER FIVE

SUNMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

5.1 SUMMARY

One aspect to recognize social media is the potential to reach and mobilize a large
number of People through civic engagement. Social media platforms provide a space for
political campaigns, candidates, and activists to connect with people, who are often active
users of these platforms. The ability to share information, rally support, and organize events
quickly and easily has made social media an attractive tool for political mobilization.

Furthermore, social media has also been credited with democratizing the political
process by giving a Notice to marginalized groups and allowing them to express their
opinions and concerns against vote buying. This has empowered people who may have
traditionally felt excluded from the political sphere to actively participate and engage in
political discussions. The immediacy and accessibility of social media have made it easier for
young people to stay informed about elections, candidates, and key issues. However,
assessment of the impact of social media as a tool for the campaign against vote buying is not
universally positive. Critics argue that social media can be a double-edged sword, as it can
also contribute to the spread of misinformation, echo chambers, and polarization. The rapid
dissemination of unverified information through social media platforms can lead to the
formation of biased opinions and the manipulation of public sentiment. Additionally,
concerns about data privacy, algorithmic bias, and the influence of social media platforms on
political campaigns have raised questions about the integrity and transparency of the electoral
process against vote buying. These concerns can impact the audience's trust in social media
as a reliable source of political information and may discourage some individuals from
actively engaging in political discussions or participating in elections.

In summary, assessment of the impact of social media as a tool for the campaign
against vote buying is a mixed bag. While it has the potential to empower and engage people,
it also comes with challenges such as misinformation and privacy concerns. Understanding
and addressing these challenges are crucial to maximizing social media's positive impact on
youth mobilization and ensuring a fair and informed electoral process.

57
5.2 CONCLUSION

Vote-buying is one of the factors militating against political development and

sustainability of democracy in Nigeria. The country is practicing a “patronage democracy”, a
carrot and stick relationship between vote-buyers and vote-sellers in consolidation of
commercialization of the polity. The quantum of money in circulation during election
barraged political development. Vote-buying is prevalent in Nigeria because an average voter
in the country is poor and cannot resist the charming effects of uncontainable electoral bribes
in cash or kind, and tantalization of voters with job opportunities purported to exist; and the
political elites’ disposition to capitalize on the weak-voters’ unity in vulnerability to exploit
the situation to render them politically feeble to control their rights to vote for candidates of
their individual choice.

Poverty, unemployment, and illiteracy have been identified by scholars as the major
Causes of, ° buying. The study argues that electoral fraud is fundamentally a derivative of
vote-buying. Vote-buying " the origin of bad governance, facilitator of imposition of wrong
and inept group of unsalable persons to find spaces in governance. Insecurity of lives and
properties, disunity amongst ethnic groups, Secessionists’ agitations from various ethnic
associations, the massive blood-letting in all parts of the country, and enormous deficit of
infrastructures are the products of vote-buying.

Therefore, emphasis should be located on fierce wrestling against vote-buying and the
capacity to institute legal suits against the culprits. CSOs, spNDIted citizens, and other
stakeholders should operate beyond rhetorics and take proactive actions against political
parties, politicians, or their agents and any delinquent anti-graft agency identified to have
been involved in vote-buying or aiding and abetting vote trading to face the wrath of the law.
The “Independent” National Electoral Commission would exhibit proficiency only when it is
constitutionally independent; when unbiased appointment of the chairman would be
competitive through electoral process.

53 RECOMMENDATIONS

Based on the findings, the researcher recommends the following: 1. Stakeholders

should work towards ensuring that social media serves as an inclusive and responsible tool
for the campaign against vote buying 2. Social media platforms should engage in meaningful
collaborations with political parties, candidates,

58
and electoral authorities. 3. Social media should be recognized as a veritable tool for
aggregating public opinion by public office holders, and should encourage free expression
therein, and let such views guide their activities. 4. Government should address echo
chambers and polarization; efforts should be made to encourage diverse participation and
viewpoints on social media. 5. Social media platforms should prioritize transparency and
accountability in their algorithms and content moderation practices.

59
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