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Report: Buhari's Approval Rating At 57 Percent

Although 57 percent of the sampled population of 4,097 across 111 local governments in Nigeria approved of the president’s performance, the results varied across regions.

A report released in the early hours of Monday reveals that 57 percent of Nigerians say President Muhammadu Buhari has done well in office.

The report, released by the Centre for Democracy and Development, was described as “Buharimeter Citizens’ Scorecard on the performance of President Muhammadu Buhari (PMB), and the ruling party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), on the three broad campaign promises (Corruption, Economy and Security) in the first two (2) years in office.”

Although 57 percent of the sampled population of 4,097 across 111 local governments in Nigeria approved of the president’s performance, the results varied across regions.

“While the North-West (85 percent) and North-East (66 percent) regions constitute the majority of those who approve of his job performance, respondents from the South-East (72 percent) and South-South (60 percent) regions make up those who do not approve his performance,” the report stated.

“On the fight against corruption, 52 percent of Nigerians expressed satisfaction with the performance of the government regarding the fight against corruption, while 47 percent expressed dissatisfaction,” the report stated.

Overall, the report showed that the president got better approvals from the northern part of the country, particularly north-east and north-west while he got the least approval from the south-east and the south-south part of the country.

Read full summary of the report below.

The Centre for Democracy and Development, CDD, Abuja, today releases summary of its report titled Buharimeter Citizens’ Scorecard on the performance of President Muhammadu Buhari (PMB), and the ruling party, the All Progressives Congress, APC, on the three broad campaign promises (Corruption, Economy and Security) in the first two years in office. The report is a product of a National Survey on Buharimeter, which was carried in all states and senatorial districts (both rural and urban) in Nigeria. In each of the 109 senatorial districts, a Local Government Area (LGA) which represents headquarter of the senatorial district was selected for interview. As a result, three (3) LGAs were sampled per State, including the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. A total of 4,097 face-to-face interviews were completed in 111 LGAs nationwide.

On a general note, the report reveals that fifty-seven per cent of sampled population approve of the job performance of PMB. However, there are clear regional differences observed in the President’s approval rating. While the North-West (85 per cent) and North-East (66 per cent) regions constitute the majority of those who approve of his job performance, respondents from the South-East (72 per cent) and South-South (60 per cent) regions make up those who do not approve his performance.

On the fight against corruption, 52 per cent of Nigerians expressed satisfaction with the performance of the government regarding the fight against corruption, while 47 per cent expressed dissatisfaction. Similarly, over 4 in 10 respondents are of the opinion that corruption has decreased with the current administration in comparison to the past administration. On the other hand, 3 in 10 respondents say corruption has increased. 47 percent of Nigerians say they are aware of the Government’s whistle blowing policy; and of this proportion, 76 percent believe it is a good measure that encourages the reporting of corrupt practices.

Almost 4 in 10 Nigerians (39 percent) rate the current government’s performance on the economy as Poor, particularly amongst South-East (82 percent) and South-South (59 percent) respondents. This was followed by 35 percent of respondents who rate the economy as Fair. Furthermore, about 46 per cent of Nigerians consider the government’s approach at tackling the economic recession in the country as somewhat “Effective”. On the contrary, 39 percent consider the government’s approach as “Not Effective At All”, particularly amongst respondents in the South-East (71%).

Also, when asked to rate the President’s reform efforts on various sectors, significant proportions of Nigerians expressed some level of satisfaction with the “Security reform” with 54 percent effectiveness; perhaps due to the relative success achieved in tackling the Boko Haram insurgency. However, the “Economic reform (67 percent), Housing reform (62 percent) and Transport reform (62 per cent)” have been considered NOT effective.

On promises relating to security, half of sampled population believe that the state of security in the country has improved compared to a year ago. However, 28 percent say the security situation has remained the same, while 21 percent say it has worsened. However, further analysis reveals that politically motivated conflicts (28 percent), land ownership disputes (24 percent), religious conflicts (23 percent) and farmer & pastoralist conflicts (22 percent) are amongst common causes of conflicts across Nigerian communities.

About 55 per cent of Nigerians believe the Government is doing enough to ensure that the Chibok girls are rescued and reunited with their families, particularly amongst respondents in the North-West region (73 percent). On the contrary, 35 per cent do not believe government is doing enough. On what measures should be taken to address the issues of Boko Haram insurgency, herdsmen conflict and militancy, Nigerians have suggested a mix of “Dialogue (37 percent)” and “Use of force (34 percent)”. About the plans for the creation of state police, roughly 6 in 10 Nigerians (61 per cent) support the creation of State Police in Nigeria. On the other hand, almost 4 in 10 (39 percent) Nigerians do not support it.

The survey was conducted between April 3rd and 22nd, 2017 in collaboration with NOIPolls. The respondents are between the age of 18 and older, and belonging to different social class, literacy and income levels. Post-stratification weights for the gender and senatorial district variables were constructed and applied to the data to make it more representative of the population, allow for more accurate population totals of estimates and reduce non-response bias. The weights assigned were in proportion to the 2006 Nigerian population figures.

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