INFLUENCE OF POLITICAL CAMPAIGN POSTERS ON THE CHOICE OF CANDIDATES

ABSTRACT

The study is on the ''Influence of Political Campaign Posters on the Choice of Candidates Among Students of Select Universities in Edo state, Nigeria''. It aimed at discovering the extent to which students of the select universities, University of Benin and Benson Idahosa University, are exposed to the political campaign posters of university students and to ascertain the attitude of the students towards the political campaign posters. It also sought to determine the influence of the political campaign posters on the choice of candidates among the students of the University of Benin and Benson Idahosa University. The study was premised on the Limited Effects Theory and the Social Judgement Theory of Mass Communication. The researcher adopted the survey research method and it was used in gathering the data for the study. The findings revealed that majority of the students of the University of Benin and Benson Idahosa University were exposed to political campaign posters of university students in Edo state. It also revealed that the exposure to political campaign posters influences the students of the two universities to choose a candidate as a larger section agreed to have been influenced by the posters. The researcher concluded that political campaign posters are crucial in influencing students of the select universities to vote for and choose candidates. It is recommended among others that as political campaign posters have been observed to influence the choice of candidates among students in the select universities, political candidates vying for electoral positions in university students associations should consistently harness the  power of political campaign posters to publicise their political goals.