Abstract

Available studies on the use of social media for political communication failed to provide an in-depth assessment of INEC activities on Twitter, thereby creating a gap for further study. This study embarked on exploratory research and it textually analyzed 42 samples tweet made by INEC between 9th January 2018 and 27th February 2019. Using “https://twitter.com/search-advanced?lang=en” 42 tweets made by INEC between 9th January 2018 and 27th February 2019 were analyzed. Findings from this study showed that INEC primarily utilized Twitter for electoral communication within the job functions of the commission. On the hashtag used by INEC during the 2019 general elections, the findings revealed that INEC used “#NigeriaDecides2019”. INEC exhibited a high level of engagement in tweeting about the activities and events of the commission to get Nigeria’s populace aware of the commission’s activities during the 2019 general elections. Lastly, the study found that INEC has over 1.7 million followers and follows 43 handles. The study concluded that with over 1.7 million on Twitter, and using “#NigeriaDecides2019”, INEC took advantage of Twitter to enhance its electoral communication by engaging in informative and participatory political communication on Twitter. 

Key Words: 2019 General Election, Engagement, INEC, Twitter, Political Communication

JCMR Journal of Communication and Media Research, Vol. 15, No. 1, April 2023, pp. 181-193.

© Association of Media and Communication Researchers of Nigeria (AMCRON).

About the authors

* Kehinde Kadijat Kadiri, Ph.D., (Corresponding Author), is an Associate Professor and Head, Department of Mass Communication, University of Ilorin, Ilorin, Kwara State, Nigeria. She has passion for health communication, visual communication, digital communication, corporate communication and humanitarianism.  

** Adetola Ayotunde Kehinde is a senior research fellow and a doctoral student at Nobel International Business School, Accra, Ghana. His research areas of core competence are information management, information and communication media, and digital communication. 

*** Olalekan Wasiu Awosanya is with the Department of Mass Communication, University of Ilorin, Ilorin, Kwara State, Nigeria. His research interests are focused on development and corporate communication. 

Article Citation

Kadiri, K. K.; Kehinde, A. A. & Awosanya, O. W. (2023). Assessment of twitter usage by the Independent National Electoral Commission during the 2019 general elections in Nigeria. Journal of Communication and Media Research, 15 (1): 181-193.

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