2025-03-27https://repository.covenantuniversity.edu.ng/handle/123456789/32757The general objective of this paper is to examine the impact of the political process through the governing elites on democratic consolidation in Nigeria‟s fourth republic. The paper argued that successive governing elites in Nigeria assimilated the character and attributes of the colonial administrators by being predatory and exploitative, thus have failed to maintain any form of social contract with the Nigerian people through governance. With the adoption of secondary method of data collection and Elite theory as framework of analysis, the paper observed that the much expected democratic dividends are still lacking and the requirements for democratic consolidation are yet to be in place. The paper suggested that the governing elite must tackle multiple tasks of building consensus in the political process, reform institutions, govern with sufficient accountability and uphold constitutionalism.application/pdfJA Political science (General), JZ International relationsArticle