Assessment of Voter Education on Electorates for Credible Election and Good Governance in Nigeria
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.64348/zije.2026326Abstract
Nigerian voter turnout has remained low when compared to other African democracies. Presenting a graphical illustration of this scenario, INEC (2019) citing example of the 2015 general election, voter turnout was only 43.7%, and in 2019, it fell even lower to 34.75%. This downward trend raises questions about how well electoral reforms and voter education can address the obvious barriers to electoral participation and the credibility of elections that can guarantee good governance. It is therefore pertinent to get citizens more informed in discharging their legitimate duties and obligations necessary for credible elections, a basic component of good governance in Nigeria. It is against the foregoing that this study x-rays the place of voter education in attaining credible elections as a means of achieving good governance in Nigeria. Findings from the study revealed that majority of respondents (with mean scores ranging from 3.32 to 3.50) authenticate voter education as Nigeria's democratic process tool; participants generally agreed that voter education plays a significant role in electoral credibility, with mean scores for all five items above 3.0; the mean scores of all the items on how voter education affects election credibility in Nigeria were higher than the neutral value of 2.5, hence, respondents had a favourable opinion of the issue for every item in the t-test since all computed t-values were greater than the critical t-value of 1.658 at the 0.05 significance level. Consequently, it behooves the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and civil society organizations to intensify nationwide civic education campaigns that targets rural and first-time voters, to improve knowledge of voting procedures and reduce voter apathy; education policymakers should include structured voter education modules in secondary and tertiary school curricula to foster early civic responsibility and political awareness among Nigerian youth; both Government and NGOs should maximize the use of social media, radio, and TV programmes in disseminating simplified and timely voter education content, ensure wider reach and reduce misinformation that could undermine election credibility.
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