Sustaining Electoral Engagement for Democracy (SEED) Project, Nigeria. USAID Mar. 2021 – Nov 2025.
Nigeria’s democracy has been hit by various electoral, governance, and security issues thus putting the country at risk of military overthrow. Although Nigerian citizens continue to prefer democracy to other forms of government, the majority of Nigerians are not satisfied with the way democracy works in Nigeria, and local and international observers agreed that the 2019 general elections fell short of citizens’ expectations. Inter- and intra-party conflict dominated the pre-election environment, heightening tensions and raising concerns about electoral violence.
The main channels relied on for information include social media (65%), radio (54%) and television (45%). Using radio, especially in rural areas or television, can address large audiences of different profiles and backgrounds while social media and television are more effective with urban dwellers. Entertainment, political news and sports are the most sought out information needs. However, this varies with the target categories, i.e. sports and entertainment appeals more to the youth population whereas the non-youth rely on the platform for political news. In terms of newspaper readership, the most read ones are Punch (35%) and Vanguard (24%), equally, Punch (27%) and Vanguard (13%) are the favorite newspapers. Other preferred newspapers vary with the specific states especially with the local prints which according to the respondents resonate well with them.
