N igerian E conomic Outlook : A Pre, During and Post-E lection A nalysis: Re- E valuating the Nigerian 2015 E lections Towards Building a Better Society Nigeria Election Colloquium of Igbinedion University Okada Host: Prof. Rev. E. Osaghae Held at Precious Palm Royal Hotel Benin Paul I. Ojeaga PhD. (Guest Presenter) Deborah O. Odejimi PhD A bstract The study investigates the effect of the 2015 general elections on the N igerian E conomy, by analyzing its impact in a pre, during and post-election scenario. The questions ask ed in the study include did N igeria economic condition depreciate prior to, during and after the 2015 general elections? To what extent has youth despair particularly towards their future employability reduced since after the 2015 general elections, and finally has the seemingly stable political climate improved investors perception and increased the ease of doing trade in N igeria? N igeria lik e any other developing country is plagued with political instability, poor leadership succession process, weak electoral process and endemic poverty. Modern societies can be differentiated from pre modern societies by the existence of a social contract amongst the resident of a given geographical area, therefore modern societies often find elections as way of selecting representatives to govern a given territory. N igeria also remains the largest economy in A frica, attractive to foreign investors and the most populated of all A frican countries. E thic divide also weak en the country mak ing it difficult to govern. The study finds that in the periods before, during and after elections N igeria economic outlook where gleam. However the worst period was the period during the elections when trade and businesses where almost brought to a halt. Crime, k illings and corruption where found to sk yrock et during the election periods and where found to reduce significantly after the period of the elections. In the aftermath of the elections, investors perception where found to improve significantly, but there where little or no foreign direct investment inflow, into the country. There is still widespread despair among the youths and the direction of change as postulated by the new party appears unclear. Keywords: N igerian E lections, Instrumental Interests, E xpressive Interests and V oters Paradox JE L Classification: P48 1.0 Back ground to the Study This section introduces election violence causes and the aims of the study. Electoral violence is prevalent in many developing African countries. Lots of factors are often responsible for such menace they include poor governance, corruption, poverty, unemployment etc. Nigeria is currently the most populous country in Africa see United Nations Statistics 2010. It is a country that gained independence from the United Kingdom on October 1 st 1960. It has been plagued with military coups political instability and poor leadership. Furthermore the electoral process in Nigeria is not as matured as those in the developed countries of the World e.g. the United States and E urope. The population of Nigeria is about 178 million according to the United Nations Statistics 2013. Nigeria is also known to have the highest amount of people living above the middle class in Africa and the