Factors Influencing Rural Dwellers' Involvement in Electoral Process in Ogun State, Nigeria

Voters’ apathy has been a serious issue on all elections conducted in Nigeria, particularly in the rural areas. The study assessed factors influencing rural dwellers’ involvement in electoral process in Ogun state. Multistage sampling procedure was used in selecting 150 respondents for the study. Data were collected through the use of interview schedule and analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Findings revealed that 63.3% of the respondents had high knowledge of electoral process, 53.3% had unfavourable attitude towards electoral process and 56.0% had low level of involvement in electoral process. Inadequate security at voting centers (x = 1.49) and difficulty in registering for Permanent Voters’ Card (= 1.37) were considered severe constraints facing respondents’ involvement. There was a significant relationship between respondents’ primary occupation (χ2=38.26, p=0.000, educational level (χ2=39.28, p=0.000) and membership of groups (χ2=45.47, p=0.000) with level of involvement in electoral process. There was also a significant relationship between knowledge of electoral process (r =0.40, p=0.000), constraints to involvement (r = -0.66, p = 0.000), monthly income (r =0.47, p=0.000) and attitude towards electoral process (r = 0.29, p = 0.000) with level of involvement in electoral process. The major factors influencing respondents’ involvement in electoral process were primary occupation, monthly income, knowledge of electoral process and constraints. The study recommended recruitment of community police to augment Federal police to curb electoral violence and more card reading machines and staff should be employed to reduce the long time spent at polling centres.