Abubakre, Fatima Iyabo2018-10-152018-10-152015Abubakre, F.I. & Oyewo O. (2015) Media Coverage, Voting Behaviour and the 2015 Presidential Election in Nigeria: A Case Study of Electorate at University of Ilorin, Journal of Peace, Security and Development Vol.1(4) pp. 141-172http://hdl.handle.net/123456789/1229Journalism, Political CommunicationThis study set out to examine the influence of the media coverage of the 2015 Nigerian presidential election campaigns on the voting behaviour of members of staff of the University of Ilorin. It investigated the pattern of frames adopted by two Nigerian newspapers (The Nation and Nigerian Tribune) in the coverage of the two main political parties’ Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives’ Congress (APC) in the 2015 Presidential election. The two newspapers were content analysed to determine the framing patterns adopted in the coverage of election campaigns. The study also carried out a survey to determine the voting behaviour of members of staff of the University in order to ascertain the framing effect of the media. The research method employed was both quantitative and qualitative. Findings indicated that The Nation newspaper used more of the Ineffective Governance frame and the Corruption frame than any other frame to present the former ruling party, the PDP, in an unenviable light, while the Nigerian Tribune on its part used more of the Effective Governance frame and Democratic Profile frame to present the PDP presidential candidate, former President Goodluck Jonathan who was seeking re-election as a performer and as a true democrat, while simultaneously emphasizing the dictatorship past of the APC presidential candidate, Muhammadu Buhari. The research showed that the two newspapers provided substantial information to the electorate, which could guide them to make informed choices in the 2015 election. The Democratic Profile frame used by the Nigerian Tribune to project former President, Goodluck Jonathan as a democrat was justified, as he conceded defeat to his main opponent, Muhammadu Buhari, even before the official announcement of the winner of the presidential election. The study showed that corruption issue was the highest point of the APC presidential candidate, Muhammadu Buhari. It is the faith and confidence of the people in his ability to fight corruption which did swing a lot of votes to him and his party. That Goodluck Jonathan though not visibly seen as being corrupt as a person was vilified for his inability to fight corruption. Results from the study also showed that the information provided by the media influenced the voting behaviour of members of staff of the University of Ilorin in the 2015 Presidential election but impacted on their voting decisions only to an extent, as there were other contending variables such as political allegiance which largely influenced their voting decisions. The study established the connection between media coverage and peoples’ voting behaviour.enFraming,Election CampaignsVoting BehaviourElectoratePolitical PartyArticle