New Poll; 6 in 10 Nigerians Expect Newly Appointed Minister to Perform Better Than Their Immediate Predecessors
Abuja, Nigeria. September 3rd, 2019 – A new public opinion poll conducted by NOIPolls in the week commencing August 26th, 2019 has revealed that slightly more than 6 in 10 Nigerians (63 percent) are optimistic that the newly appointed federal ministers will perform better than their immediate predecessors. The North-East zone (78 percent) had the highest percentage of Nigerians who were optimistic of a better performance from the newly appointed ministers. Also, age-group category revealed a rather interesting finding as this optimism seem to be higher among the younger population (18 – 35 years) and this optimism decreased with age. Interestingly, Nigerians are hopeful for a better performance of the new ministers because they believe they are capable of doing the work assigned to them (47 percent); some of the ministers have been tested before (22 percent) and they believe President Buhari will monitor them (11 percent) amongst other reasons.
Furthermore, 22 percent of Nigerians disclosed that the performance of the newly appointed ministers will be at par with that of their immediate predecessors and residents from the South-South had the larger share of Nigerians in this category. While 30 percent of Nigerians made this assertion because they believe that the ministerial appointment is loop sided, 27 percent were of the opinion that the newly appointed ministers are the same people that were appointed Minters in President’s Buhari’s first term in office. Additionally, findings also showed that 15 percent of Nigerians expect that the performance of the newly appointed ministers will be worse-off than that of the immediate out-gone Ministers mainly because they believe that the ministers are corrupt. Respondents residing in the South-East accounted for the highest fraction of Nigerians who think the newly appointed ministers will be worse off.
Although most Nigerians expect the new ministers to out-perform their immediate predecessors, it is also pertinent that civil society organizations as well as other stakeholders that promote and protect good governance ensure that Nigerians get good governance from these new ministers. This could be achieved by demanding a good model of governance that is participatory, consensus oriented, accountable, transparent, responsive, effective and efficient, equitable and inclusive, and follows the rule of law.
Poll Background
The announcement of ministers on the 19th August 2019 by the President ended weeks of speculations of the appointment of ministers. In the weeks leading to the appointment, there were lists and counter lists of who makes the ministerial list from all quarters. Also, there have been horse trading, politicking and political bargain before the eventual emergence of the ministerial list within the political juggernauts in the country. There have also been weeks of speculation about the portfolios the ministers will be assigned to and Nigerians have been wondering whether the right set of people will get the right positions as it is critical for round pegs to be in round holes.
The question in the minds of Nigerians now is how effective these ministers will perform compared to the immediate past ministers. Will they perform better or worse off or will they be the same in terms of performance to the last set of ministers? It remains to be seen and it is only time that will eventually tell, as the saying goes. However, their performance is hinged to the overall socio-economic performance of the government towards ameliorating the hardship Nigerians are going through and vice-versa. Against this backdrop, NOIPolls conducted a survey to gauge the opinions of Nigerians regarding their expectations of the new ministers.
Poll Findings
The survey gauged the expectation of Nigerians regarding the performance of the newly appointed federal ministers in relation to those of their immediate predecessors. Hence, the analysis of results revealed that 63 percent of Nigerians expect a better performance from the newly appointed minister and those residing in the North-East had the larger percentage of Nigerians who gave this assertion. Additionally, analysis of results across the age-groups revealed that optimism regarding the performance of the new ministers seem to wane as age increases with the younger population having the highest optimism in performance.
Furthermore, while 22 percent of Nigerians expect the performance of the new ministers to be the same with that of their predecessors, 15 percent of Nigerians anticipate that they would be worse-off in their performance.
Consequently, respondents who stated that they expect the new ministers to perform better than their immediate predecessors were further asked to give reasons for their assertion. The poll result showed that the top three major reasons expressed by Nigerians are that the newly appointed ministers are capable (47 percent), they have been tested (22 percent) and that the President will monitor their activities (11 percent).
Similarly, the top three reasons given by respondents who stated that they expect the performance of the new ministers to be the same with that of their immediate predecessors are as follows; they believe the ministerial selection is loop sided (30 percent), they think the ministers are the same people (27 percent) and they believe same routine will continue (19 percent).
Respondents who were pessimistic regarding the expected performance of the new ministers showed that the top three reasons for their pessimism are because they think they are corrupt (47 percent), they believe the Nigerian economy is getting worse (18 percent) and the ministers are all politicians (13 percent).
In conclusion, the poll revealed that most Nigerians (63 percent) expect the newly appointed ministers to perform better than their immediate predecessors with the belief that the ministers are capable and that they have been tested. 22 percent expect the current ministers to be the same while 15 percent believe that they would be worse off than their immediate predecessors mainly because they believe that they are corrupt.
Given that most Nigerians are optimistic about the performance of the newly appointed ministers, it is pertinent that they fulfill the expectation of the masses by ensuring that they deliver on their respective tasks to rebuild the economy, strengthen state institutions and unify Nigeria and Nigerians beyond the one Nigeria philosophy of the nation’s founding fathers.
Finally, civil society organizations, non-governmental organizations as well as other stakeholders should synergize and ensure that Nigerians get good governance from these new ministers by demanding a model of good governance that is participatory, consensus oriented, accountable, transparent, responsive, effective and efficient, equitable and inclusive, and follows the rule of law.
Survey Method
The poll was conducted in the week commencing August 26th, 2019. It involved telephone interviews of a random nationwide sample. 1,000 randomly selected phone-owning Nigerians aged 18 years and above, representing the six geopolitical zones in the country, were interviewed. With a sample of this size, we can say with 95% confidence that the results obtained are statistically precise – within a range of plus or minus 4.65%.
NOIPolls Limited, is the No1 for country specific polling services in West Africa. We conduct periodic opinion polls and studies on various socio-economic and political issues in Nigeria. More information is available at www.noi-polls.com or download our mobile app NOIPolls on your smartphone.
Disclaimer
This press release has been produced by NOIPolls Limited to provide information on all issues which form the subject matter of the document. Kindly note that while we are willing to share results from our polls with the general public, we only request that NOIPolls be acknowledged as author whenever and wherever our poll results are used, cited or published.
NOIPolls hereby certifies that all the views expressed in this document accurately reflect its views of respondents surveyed for the poll, and background information is based on information from various sources that it believes are reliable; however, no representation is made that it is accurate or complete. Whilst reasonable care has been taken in preparing this document, no responsibility or liability is accepted for errors or fact or for any views expressed herein by NOIPolls for actions taken as a result of information provided in this report. Any ratings, forecasts, estimates, opinions or views herein constitute a judgment as at the date of this document. If the date of this document is not current, the views and content may not reflect NOIPolls’ current findings and/or thinking.
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