Celebrity Endorsements and Electoral Decisions of Undergraduates in Lagos State Institutions: An Exploratory Study of the 2023 General Election

This study explored the relationship between celebrity endorsements and electoral decisions of undergraduates in Lagos State institutions during the 2023 general election campaign. The research adopted a quantitative descriptive approach, using the survey method to collect data from a sample of 200 undergraduates across three institutions. Data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) to generate descriptive statistics including frequencies and percentages. Findings revealed that despite high awareness (84%) of celebrity endorsements, the majority of respondents (59.5%) reported that celebrity endorsements did not affect their electoral decisions. Only 20.5% of respondents indicated that celebrity endorsements played a role in their voting choices. Respondents demonstrated low trust in celebrities as political endorsers, indicating that they based their electoral decisions primarily on factors such as political experience (74.5%), candidate competence, and track record. The study provides empirical evidence describing undergraduate perceptions and self-reported decision-making patterns regarding celebrity endorsements in the 2023 election, highlighting the need for political actors to develop campaign strategies that prioritize substantive engagement over celebrity appeal when targeting the youth demographic.