Abstract
<p>This paper examines how political parties managed political information during the 2023 gubernatorial electionsin Cross River State, Nigeria. The objectives of the study were to examine the information management strategiesadopted by the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and to assess theeffectiveness of these strategies in achieving electoral goals. Data were collected through survey instruments andanalysed using descriptive statistics and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) at the 0.05 level of significance. Thefindings revealed that both the APC and PDP deployed multi-channel information strategies, including social mediacampaigns, traditional media messaging, grassroots mobilisation, and data-driven targeting of specific voter blocs.Although these strategies improved message speed, visibility, and engagement among some demographic groups,their overall persuasive effect on undecided voters and their capacity to drive voter turnout were perceived asmoderate rather than strong. The ANOVA results further indicated no statistically significant difference betweenthe APC and PDP in the strategies adopted or in the perceived effectiveness of those strategies for achievingelectoral goals. The study concludes that while both parties have modernised their communication architectures,the effectiveness of information management still depends on local networks, credibility, and the ability to bridgethe digital divide between urban and rural audiences. The study recommends that political parties should continueto strengthen digital communication teams for rapid message dissemination while sustaining ward-level grassrootsstructures and town-hall engagements, since face-to-face interaction remains essential for building trust, particularlyin rural communities and among older voters.</p>