The 2023 Nigerian presidential election and the question of political credibility

Abstract

Nigeria's political environment is characterized by poverty, unemployment, underemployment, social and political marginalization, and other intolerable human issues which have been blamed as the root causes of electoral violence in Nigeria. This paper identified the challenges that hindered the conduct of a credible 2023 presidential elections and also recommended strategies for conducting credible presidential elections in the future. Survey research design was applied for the study. The area of the study was in University of Nigeria. The population of the study is 250 respondents which consist of 42 Public Administration lecturers and 208 first year students from the department of Public Administration, University of Nigeria, Nsukka. The entire population of 250 respondents was used as the sample for the study. Structured questionnaire was designed for data collection. The study found among others that ineffectiveness of security forces and culture of impunity and weak penalties against electoral act offenders are among the challenges that hindered the effective conduct of a credible 2023 presidential election in Nigeria. The study recommended among others that a bill for the establishment of Electoral Offenses Commission should be passed. This will help in the speedy trial of electoral offenders to serve as deterrent to future offenders.