Media Representation of Muslim-Muslim Tickets in Nigeria's Presidential Elections: Insights from Government and Private Newspaper Editorials

This research adopted mixed methods (content analysis, Oral Interviews, and focus group discussions) to investigate the editorials of government and private newspapers on the Muslim-Muslim tickets (MMT) of All-Progressives Congress in the 2023 presidential election in Nigeria. Anchoring on Agenda-setting and Framing theories, the article focused on the frequency of editorials, direction of framing language, opinion of the government and public, mechanics of graphology, prominence, and consequence. The period covered was from the beginning of purchase of nomination forms (June, 2022) to election-day (February 25, 2023). Vanguard (private) and Daily Times (government) were selected through multi-stage sampling. Vanguard represented the opinion of private newspapers while Daily Times represented government's opinion. The population of study was 546: Vanguard (273), Daily Times (273). The actual sample size for each newspaper was further determined through purposive sampling. Riffle’s Composite Weeks/Months sampling was also considered, and the editions sorted using random and quota methods. 4 editions of each newspaper were retrieved each week to give 16 copies per month and 144 over the period. Data were presented on tables using simple percentages. Findings showed that Vanguard overtly criticised MMT and set more agenda (74 editorials) while Daily Times supported MMT and published fewer editorials (68). The number of the citizens against MMT was greater than the number that supported it. The major consequences of MMT were religious, ethnic, and political. The paper recommended that newspapers should set an unbiased editorial agenda on political issues, and discourage government divisive practices like MMT.