By Abubakar Yunusa
A new report has revealed that most Nigerian states are recording weak democratic outcomes despite conducting regular elections.
The 2025 State of Democracy in Nigeria Report, unveiled on Tuesday by the Kimpact Development Initiative, paints a troubling picture of governance at the subnational level.
Presenting the findings in Abuja, the Executive Director of KDI, Bukola Idowu, said the report goes beyond election monitoring to assess how democracy actually works across the 36 states.
“The report evaluates how democracy functions in practice across all states, providing a structured, evidence-based analysis of democratic performance,” Idowu said.
He explained that the study was built on the Democracy Performance Index, a framework combining data from over 7,000 citizen responses, institutional checklists, and official records.
According to him, data was gathered between September and December 2025 and measured across key areas including electoral participation, political inclusion, institutional effectiveness, and civil liberties.
The findings showed a stark reality.
“Not a single Nigerian state reaches the High Democratic Performance band,” Idowu stated.
He added that while elections are being held and citizens are participating, these processes are failing to deliver accountable governance and inclusive representation.
Only six states — Oyo, Yobe, Ekiti, Nasarawa, Ondo and Osun — were ranked within the moderate performance category.
A larger number, 28 states, fell within the low performance band, while Jigawa and Rivers were categorised under weak performance.
The report further revealed that political inclusion remains the most limited aspect of democracy nationwide.
“No state achieved even moderate representation for women, youth, and persons with disabilities,” the report noted.
It also highlighted weaknesses in institutional accountability, with many state institutions struggling with transparency and effective oversight.
On civic space, the report observed a mixed trend, noting that while some states maintain openness, others show increasing restrictions on civil society activities.
Despite these gaps, the report stressed that democracy in Nigeria is not entirely failing but remains shallow in impact.
“It is functioning procedurally but constrained in depth and outcomes,” Idowu added.
The report, however, offers a roadmap for reform, aimed at strengthening institutions and improving the link between citizen participation and governance outcomes.
In his remarks, Busari Sarafadeen, speaking on behalf of the Conference of Speakers of State Legislatures, said the initiative would support institutional development and policy innovation.
He noted that the project provides a platform for collaboration, research, and knowledge sharing to deepen democratic practices across the country.
Sarafadeen added that efforts would continue to enhance governance structures through modern tools and policy-driven approaches.
The report is regarded as the most comprehensive assessment of democratic governance ever conducted across Nigeria’s states.
In his keynote address,Prof. Adetunji Ogunyemi ,“Democracy itself is contested in definition across different people and cultures, how much more its practice?
This suggests we are often dealing with different forms of democracy, both liberal and illiberal.”
‘What does democracy actually look like in practice?Who is it working for?
Where is it falling short?
Also,Prof. Earnest Ereke challenged prevailing ideas about how democracy is framed and practiced.
He questioned the notion of labeling democracy as “liberal” or “illiberal,” noting that such distinctions can contribute to structural problems rather than resolve them.
At the state level, he warned, institutional capture often goes unnoticed, yet its impact is significant.
“When institutions are pocketed, it becomes dangerous, especially where scrutiny is limited.”
Speaking during the session,a broadcast journalist and political economist,Amaechi Anakwe pushed the conversation beyond systems and structures.
“Our problem goes beyond democracy in Nigeria,” he noted. “It includes our cultural values and inclinations.”
Reflecting on pre-colonial governance systems like the Oyo Empire, he argued that leadership was more distributed and less concentrated in a single authority; raising questions about how power is structured today.
