This study examines the efficacy of the power sector reform in enhancing the development of the informal economy in the southeast geopolitical zone of Nigeria. It interrogates explicitly the effect of the unbundling of the electricity sector on job creation and livelihoods of the operators of the informal economy. Utilizing the mixed methods data approach and the Marxist theory of the postcolonial state, this study argues that the power sector reform is part of the grand strategy aimed at expanding capitalist penetration and protecting the economic interests of the advanced capitalist states. This self-serving interest of the capitalist institutions, which the power sector reform intends to protect explains the crisis in the power sector manifesting in poor electricity supply and increased tariffs for electricity consumers. Indeed, these untoward outcomes have negatively affected the development of the informal economy in southeast Nigeria. It, however, recommends a reevaluation of the market-based power sector reform in Nigeria.

The argument that Nigerian elections are characterized by electoral irregularities since the commencement of present democratic engagement in 1999 has not been sufficiently subjected to an analytical procedure to embrace the six Nigerian election cycles. Thus, the study investigated this unsettled question to provide insights into how the recurring incidence of irregularities has dominated Nigerian election seasons within the period under review. It situated the problem within the context of the winner-takes-all majoritarian electoral system (MES) and queried the adoption of the MES-driven model, implemented in an environment of do-or-die politics and the 'glorification' of clandestine electoral strategies. It further argued that the model reinforced the use of these strategies by politicians to increase their odds of victory without considering their detrimental consequences. The examination of available documents revealed that the model is consistently implicated in the electoral irregularities that characterized Nigerian elections. It further discovered that the model promoted the crude perception of politics as a zero-sum contest. The present deplorable state of democracy in Nigeria is a function of irregularities and their consequential composites: life-taking elections, election disputes, and voter apathy. These suggest the need for a thorough electoral reform that will throw up a digitally secured electoral system that will be implemented to reflect the various shades of multiethnic cultural Nigerian society. To reduce tension during elections and encourage inclusivity in Nigeria, the reform should be able to institutionalize the electoral commission, check government interference in its activities, reduce the present huge election spending, ensure proportional distribution of votes and positions, and make public offices less financially attractive.

The argument that Nigerian elections are characterized by electoral irregularities since the commencement of present democratic engagement in 1999 has not been sufficiently subjected to an analytical procedure to embrace the six Nigerian election cycles. The unsettled question of irregularities that have consistently dominated elections in Nigeria is interrogated in this study. The study situates the problem within the context of winner-takes-all majoritarian electoral system (MES) and queries the implementation of the MES-driven model in an environment of do-or-die politics, weak electoral institution, and 'glorification' of clandestine electoral strategies. It further argues that the model reinforces politicians’ use of subtle strategies to increase their odds of victory and pay less or not attention to their detrimental consequences on democratic development. The study is underpinned on personal experience as active participants in Nigerian elections and available textual documents. The analysis of data supports the argument that MES-model is poorly implemented in Nigeria and promotes the crude perception of politics as a zero-sum do-or-die contest. The present deplorable state of democracy in Nigeria is a function of irregularities and their consequential composites: life-taking elections, election disputes, and voter apathy, which has been in a downward fall since 2003. These findings suggest the need for voter-driven electoral reform that will reduce tension during elections and encourage inclusivity in Nigeria. The reform should be able to institutionalize Nigeria’s electoral body and check government interference in its activities, reduce the present huge election spending, ensure proportionate distribution of votes/positions, and make public offices less financially attractive.