NEWSPAPER COVERAGE OF INTRA-PARTY CONFLICTS IN APC AND PDP: A STUDY OF THE PUNCH AND DAILY TRUST BY TAYO-ADIGBOLUJA, AFOLAYAN GEORGIANNA (12BE013162) B.Sc Mass Communication, Covenant University, Ota A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE SCHOOL OF POSTGRADUATE STUDIES IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE AWARD OF MASTER OF SCIENCE (M.Sc.) DEGREE IN MASS COMMUNICATION IN THE DEPARTMENT OF MASS COMMUNICATION, COLLEGE OF BUSINESS AND SOCIAL SCIENCES, COVENANT UNIVERSITY. FEBRUARY, 2020 1 ACCEPTANCE This is to attest that this dissertation is accepted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the award of the degree of Master of Sciences in Mass Communication in the Department of Mass Communication, College of Business and Social Sciences, Covenant University, Ota, Nigeria. Mr. John A. Phillip (Secretary, School of Postgraduate Studies) Signature and Date Prof. Abiodun H. Adebayo (Dean, School of Postgraduate Studies) Signature and Date i DECLARATION I, TAYO-ADIGBOLUJA AFOLAYAN GEORGIANNA (12BE013162), declares that this research was carried out by me under the supervision of Dr. Olusola Oyero of the Department of Mass Communication, College of Business and Social Sciences, Covenant University, Ota, Nigeria. I attest that the dissertation has not been presented either wholly or partially for the award of any degree elsewhere. All sources of data and scholarly information used in this dissertation are duly acknowledged. TAYO-ADIGBOLUJA AFOLAYAN Signature and Date ii CERTIFICATION We certify that this dissertation titled “NEWSPAPER COVERAGE OF INTRA-PARTY CONFLICTS IN APC AND PDP: A STUDY OF THE PUNCH AND DAILY TRUST is an original research work carried out by TAYO-ADIGBOLUJA, AFOLAYAN GEORGIANNA in the Department of Mass Communication, College of Business and Social Sciences, Covenant University, Ota, Ogun State, Nigeria under the supervision of Dr. Olusola Oyero. We have examined and found this work acceptable as part of the requirements for the award of Master of Science in Mass Communication. Dr Olusola Oyero __________________________ (Supervisor) Signature and Date Dr Olusola Oyero __________________________ (Head of Department) Signature and Date Dr. Oloruntola Sunday __________________________ (External Examiner) Signature and Date Prof. Abiodun H. Adebayo __________________________ (Dean, School of Postgraduate Studies) Signature and Date iii DEDICATION I dedicate this dissertation to God almighty and to my parents- Mr. Babajide Tayo-Adigboluja and Mrs Olubunmi Tayo-Adigboluja. I also dedicate this dissertation to the memory of my late mother, Mrs. Tayo- Adigboluja Olaide. Finally, I dedicate this dissertation to the memory of my late friend and sister, Mrs Eunice Amoka-Bankole. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS All praise and glory be to God on high for the completion of this dissertation. I am immeasurably thankful to the Almighty for His grace and strength, and for the people He has blessed me with and all who have in one way or the other contributed to the success of this research work. My genuine gratitude goes out to the following people: To Dr. Olusola Oyero, my greatest push to succeed, thank you. You have been more than just a supervisor. Thank you for your help, support and advices that never run out. I ask that the good Lord blesses you beyond measure. To my lecturers in the Mass Communication Department, thank you all. I specifically want to appreciate Dr. Nelson Okorie for guiding me through the first phase of this research work, Dr. Kehinde Oyesomi for her valuable, timely inputs and Dr. Oscar Odiboh for always coming through when I require any form of assistance. Thank you all for continually encouraging me to become the very best. God bless you all. My parents, Mr and Mrs Tayo- Adigboluja, you both are ‘goals’. As individuals, and as a couple, I am proud to be associated with you. Thank you for teaching me to love the Lord. Thank you for providing me with all that I needed to get this research work done. Today, more than ever, I pray that you will be proud to call yourself my parents in the years to come. To my mother- Olaide Terentia Tayo-Adigboluja. You may be gone, but you can never be forgotten. You were my first teacher, and you taught me to believe in myself and the skills deposited in me by God. Thank you for leading me aright. I hope this makes you proud in heaven! To my ever-sweet aunt, Mrs. Adetola Johnson, I say a big thank you. For caring for me and attending to my needs without reservation, thank you. Your contributions to this work do not go unnoticed! To my best friend and chief motivator, Oluwatomisin Aluko, thank you for both spiritual and physical support. Thank you for pushing me to do more and be more. You believed in me even when I lost all hope. I’m grateful! God has the best of the best in store for you my love! Eunice, my friend and sister who has gone to be with the Lord, your contributions to this work cannot be quantified. All the way from Jigawa State, you continued to help me. Not only did v you provide me with your dissertation which served as a guide for mine, you made sure you were available to assist every time I needed help. Onyiyoza, you may not be here with me physically, but you live in my heart, forever! Continue to rest sister. I love you dearly. To my course mate, Oredola Opeyemi, I’m grateful for your presence. For all the ‘check-ups’ and advises, I’m indebted to you. God will take you places! To my siblings; Ayomide, Ifetokun and Ayobami, thank you all for always asking how school was and how things were with my dissertation. Knowing you care meant a lot to me. In your individual programmes and institutions of study, I wish you the very best. God bless you my ‘Day-ones.’ Dear Cousin of mine, Adeola Scott! Thank you, my sister. You never failed to put my dissertation into consideration whenever we had any job at hand. Thank you for your patience and support. Thank you for always calling DeeDee. I love you loads! My roommate –Favour Olarewaju. You are more than just a roommate baby girl; you are my friend and sister. We both did this dissertation ‘wahala’ together, and through it all, you remained a huge source of inspiration. From waking me up in the middle of the night to work, to helping me out when I got stuck, I can’t thank you enough. Thank you especially for providing me with an atmosphere serene enough to get the job done. You have no idea what this means to me. Flourish Favour. The world awaits your manifestation, my brainy! I sincerely want to appreciate my friends and course mates, beginning with Toluwanimi Onakoya- girl, I’m glad I have you in my corner. Thank you for all that you put into seeing that this work was completed. Mrs. Nkechi Chinedu- Asogwa, you’re a blessing to my life. Thank you for always checking up on my work, asking how far I had gone and for always willing to help me out in times of difficulty. Omolayo Olabanjo, thank you for giving me the ‘ginger’ to do this dissertation, and for sharing your bed space and room with me while I worked, even when I had mine. May the good Lord keep and strengthen you all as you begin your dissertations! And finally, to the Mass Communication class of 2019/2020, a big thank you to you all. For your love, care and support, I am grateful. The best in life are yours! Tayo-Adigboluja, Afolayan Georgianna January, 2020. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS ACCEPTANCE .......................................................................................................................... i DECLARATION ....................................................................................................................... ii CERTIFICATION .................................................................................................................. iii DEDICATION .......................................................................................................................... iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ...................................................................................................... v TABLE OF CONTENTS ........................................................................................................ vii LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................................................... x LIST OF TABLES .................................................................................................................... xi ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................................. xii CHAPTER ONE ........................................................................................................................ 1 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY .................................................................................. 1 1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM ................................................................................. 6 1.3 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY....................................................................................... 7 1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS ............................................................................................... 8 1.5 HYPOTHESES .................................................................................................................. 9 1.6 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY .................................................................................. 9 1.7 SCOPE OF THE STUDY ...............................................................................................