Use of social media in the 2015 presidential election in Nigeria

This study was designed to investigate the use of social media for political campaigns in the 2015 presidential elections in Nigeria. It sought to determine the extent to which social networking sites were used for the 2015 Nigerian presidential election campaigns; determine the social networking sites mostly used for campaigns and to find out the political party that mostly used social networking sites for political campaigns during the 2015 presidential elections in Nigeria. Survey design was adopted, while questionnaire was used as instrument of data collection. The findings show that social networking sites were used to a great extent for political campaigns during the 2015 presidential elections in Nigeria and that the social media contributed to the choice of candidates during the 2015 presidential elections, but the extent was minimal. Based on findings, conclusion can be drawn that social media was used for political campaigns in Nigeria during the 2015 presidential elections, but the extent to which they influenced choice of the candidate was minimal. The study therefore, recommended that modern day politicians must as a matter of fact know that social media are inevitable and one of the important tools for the success of political campaigns.