DEPARTMENT OF POLITICALSCIENCE

This study examines the evolution of political campaign strategies and their impact onvoterbehaviour in Benin City, Nigeria, through a comparative analysis of the 2019 and 2023general elections. In 2019, campaigns predominantly relied on traditional methods such as rallies, posters, radio jingles, door-to-door canvassing, and face-to-face mobilization, which reinforcedpartyloyalty, personality politics, and ethno-regional affiliations, particularly in rural and semi-urbanareas. By 2023, there was a notable shift toward digital strategies, including social mediaplatforms (Twitter, Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram), targeted messaging, influencerendorsements, and data-driven audience segmentation, which effectively mobilized urbanyouthand disillusioned voters seeking transparency, reform, and candidate competence over partyidentity. Despite this, challenges persisted, including the digital divide (limiting online reachinrural areas), misinformation, fake news, vote-buying, voter apathy, and security concerns. Theresearch highlights hybrid campaign models combining traditional and digital approaches, variations in voter behaviour across socio-demographic groups (e.g., age, urban-rural divide), and the growing influence of candidate-based politics. Guided by research questions onpredominant strategies, differences in voter behaviour, the role of digital media, and influencingfactors, the study aims to identify campaign methods, analyze behavioural shifts, assess mediainfluences, and investigate responsiveness factors. Focused solely on Benin City andthetwospecified election cycles, this work contributes to understanding political communication, enhances strategies for ethical engagement, supports voter education efforts, and providesinsights for strengthening democratic processes in Nigeria.

This study was carried out to examine Perception of students on the withholdingof theirfinal year projects by the institution in Fine and Applied Arts Department: a case study of tertiaryinstitutions in Nigeria. Four research questions was raised to guide the study and the mainobjective of the study is explore the perception of students regarding the withholdingof theirfinal year projects in Fine and Applied Arts departments. The descriptive design was adopted, the population size comprise students in universityof Benin. In determining the sample size 100 students was used as the sample size. Self-constructed and validated questionnaire was used for data collection. The collected and validatedquestionnaires were analyzed using frequency tables. The result of the findings reveals that indicating that a majority of the respondents agreed with the rationale providedbyinstitutions. These include preventing plagiarism, protecting intellectual property, andmaintaining academic standards, from the finding it was also indicated that students holdnegative perceptions of the practice and experience emotional dissatisfaction, suchasfrustration and disempowerment. The study therefore recommended that Institutions shouldformulate transparent guidelines that define the conditions under which final year projectscan be accessed, used, and published by students, Rather than total withholding, universitiescan adopt digital repositories where students can access their work under supervisionor aftera fixed embargo period, Students should be educated on their intellectual rights andresponsibilities, enabling them to understand why their works may be temporarily restrictedand how they can legally protect and use them.