VOTERS

This study was carried out on the findings on voters apathy and democratic consolidation in Nigeria a case study of 2023 general elections. The study was carried out to determine the level of voters apathy in the 2023 general elections in Nigeria, identify the causes of voters apathy in the 2023 general elections in Nigeria, and ascertain the effects of voters apathy on democratic consolidation in Nigeria. The survey design was adopted and the simple random sampling techniques were employed in this study. The population size comprised of residents of Emohua Local Government Area. In determining the sample size, the researcher purposefully selected 147 respondents and 141 were validated. Self-constructed and validated questionnaire was used for data collection. The collected and validated questionnaires were analyzed using frequency tables, and mean scores. While the hypotheses was tested chi-square statistical tool. The result of the findings reveals that the level of voters apathy in Nigeria is high. Furthermore, the study revealed that the effects of voters apathy on democratic consolidation in Nigeria includes: political apathy mitigates the idea democracy, poor turnout of voters, poor leadership structure, increases corruption, conflicts, bad government. Therefore, it is recommended that there is urgent need for political education in Nigeria especially the people in the riverine and rural areas. Political education should not be limited to the school system. Both formal and informal approaches should be adopted to orientate the citizens on the need for active participation in the political system. There is the need for mass political enlightenment through the media, adult education programme and civil associations. The citizens should be conscious of the danger of their political apathy. To mention but a few.