DIGITAL EMPOWERMENT AS CIVIC ENGAGEMENT: A CONTENT ANALYSIS OF PUBLIC RESPONSE TO THE SKILL UP IMO INITIATIVE ON FACEBOOK

Abstract

This study examined how the Imo State Government's SkillUpImo digital empowerment initiative was communicated on Facebook and how citizens responded to that communication. Anchored on the Excellence Theory of Public Relations and the Dialogic Communication Theory, the study adopted a mixed-method content analysis design to examine communication themes, citizen engagement patterns, and public sentiment. Thirty-two official SkillUpImo Facebook posts published between May 2025 and July 2026 were purposively sampled and coded for post format, communication theme, tone, and communication function, while engagement metrics and the first ten to eleven publicly visible comments on each of thirty of these posts were coded for likes, comments, sentiment, and recurring issues. Findings show that government communication was overwhelmingly informational (87.5 percent) and dominated by registration, admission, and orientation announcements, with three-quarters of posts explicitly framing SkillUpImo as an empowerment initiative. Citizen engagement was substantial but reactive rather than dialogic, concentrated on posts announcing examinations, admission status, and technical procedures. Sentiment across coded comments was mixed and skewed negative to neutral (45.1 percent neutral, 29.9 percent negative, 25.0 percent positive), driven chiefly by recurring complaints about dashboard and portal errors, unclear eligibility status, and delayed laptop or kit delivery. The study concludes that although SkillUpImo's Facebook page functions as an active information channel, it falls short of the two-way, responsive communication that citizen engagement on government pages requires, and recommends that government communicators complement informational posts with structured feedback mechanisms, timely technical support, and regular updates on unresolved citizen concerns.