ELECTIONEERING CAMPAIGN AND THE NIGERIAN ECONOMY

Abstract

Elections constitute a livewire that gives real meaning to democracy on which great nations have been built. A cardinal factor of elections is the electioneering campaign, which is run on funds so huge that candidates to elective offices cannot attempt to undertake it alone. The magnitude of this funds have potentials to impact (positively or negatively) on an economy, as made more manifest by the experience of the general elections of 2015 in Nigeria. This paper therefore, described electioneering campaigns in Nigeria and their impact on the Nigerian economy. The theory that forms the framework of study is economic shock theory. The study used survey method. Descriptive statistics was used to analyze the data. The findings showed that electioneering campaigns have caused a serious shock to the Nigerian economy. Hence, the implication of these findings is that if Nigeria continues with their mindset of electioneering campaign, the economy will continue to deteriorate. Hence, the study recommended that the federal government should empower the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to step up on its duties as regards the implementation of electoral laws in terms of the financial laid – down rules in elections so as to control its negative impact in the country’s development.