Assessing the impact of social media on legislative transparency (2023-2025)
Thesis
In Nigeria today, there is public outcry among citizens regarding lack of transparency in the activities of their representatives. Despite public outcry, much has not been done to address this problem. The objective of the study assessed the role of social media in enhancing legislative transparency in Nigeria, and to identify the challenges of using social media for legislative transparency. The justification for the study is to address the issue of public outcry among citizens regarding lack of transparency in the activities of their representatives using social media. The research or study adopted a mixed method design with questionnaire and in-depth interview as instruments for data collection on a sample size of 357 respondents drawn from the study population while twelve (12) participants were used for in-depth interview. The study adopted transparency theory supported by democratic participant’s theory. Results from the study revealed that social media serves as a powerful bridge between lawmakers and citizens, breaking down barriers to information as well as facilitates real-time dissemination of legislative processes, voting records, and policy discussions, empowering constituents to stay informed and hold public officials accountable. Findings also showed that the Nigerian lawmakers use social media transparency to a large extent to enhance legislative transparency. Furthermore, the study revealed that the impact of social media on legislative transparency is to monitor legislative processes as well as to make governance accessible and engage with constituents. Finally, the study found that their numerous challenges of using social media for legislative transparency such as misinformation and disinformation, digital divide, data privacy and security limited internet access in rural areas among others. The study concluded that social media has contributed in revolutionizing legislative transparency in Nigeria by making governance more accessible, inclusive as well as empowered citizens to engage directly with lawmakers, monitor legislative activities, and contribute to policy discussions. The study recommended that social media should be regulated to address and correct false information to maintain public credibility and trust, as misinformation can undermine transparency efforts. Policy makers should create an environment where citizens can use social media to question government actions, highlight irregularities, and mobilize for collective action, holding lawmakers accountable. Network providers should improve on their services with a view to addressing the problem of digital divide especially constituents in rural areas whom are sometimes disconnected due to poor network service and constituents in rural areas should also be trained on the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) and social media for effective engagement with legislators.