Voters' Perception of the All Progressive Congress (APC's) Political Jingles and Its Influence on Choice of Candidates in the 2023 Governorship Election in Bayelsa and Delta States, Nigeria

Political jingles have become a ubiquitous feature of election campaigns in Nigeria, serving as a key tool for political parties to connect with voters, convey their message, and sway public opinion. The All Progressive Congress (APC), the ruling political party at the national level in Nigeria, has consistently utilised political jingles as a strategic campaign tactic. The 2023 governorship elections in Bayelsa and Delta States, Nigeria, present a unique context to examine the influence of APC's political jingles on voters' choices. Bayelsa and Delta States are strategically located in the Niger Delta region, an area of significant economic and political importance in Nigeria. This study investigated voters’ perception of APC’s political jingles and its influence on choices in the 2023 governorship election in Bayelsa and Delta States. The key objective was to investigate the nexus between the perception of the jingles and the voting choices made by the electorate. Dual-Process, Agenda-Setting, Psychological Reactance and Cognitive Dissonance theories were examined. With descriptive survey as research design, the study had a population of 3,768,456 voters and a sample size of 388. The cluster sampling technique was used to select the respondents from each State. Simple Linear Regression statistics associated with t-test was used to answer the research questions while model summary with Anova was used to test hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. Findings show that APC's political jingles during the 2023 Governorship election in Bayelsa and Delta States had minimal impact on voters’ perception and decision-making. While effectively disseminated, the jingles' themes were largely insignificant, suggesting that other factors played more critical role in shaping voters’ behaviour and attitudes. Based on the findings, the study recommends that political communications teams should focus on themes that resonate with specific local populations, especially as it relates to economic development and community welfare.