Abuja, Nigeria. May 27, 2013 – Latest weekly poll results released by NOI Polls Limited has revealed that about 4 in 10 Nigerians (44%) still approve the performance of President Goodluck Jonathan for the month of May 2013, marking a 2-point increase from his rating for April 2013. The results also indicate that Nigerians generally rate the performance of the current administration as average (50%). Also, there has been a slight decline in the proportion of Nigerians that experienced worsening power supply in the month of May (44%), compared to 51% in April 2013. These are the key findings from the governance poll conducted for the month of May 2013.
The results presented in this release are the fifth in the monthly series of governance polls conducted by NOI Polls to gauge the opinions and perceptions of Nigerians regarding three crucial elements – the approval rating of the president, the performance of the current administration, and the situation of power supply in the country.
Respondents to the poll were asked three specific questions. The first question sought to gauge the approval rating of President Goodluck Jonathan over the past 1 month: Do you approve or disapprove of the performance of the president in the past 1 month? From the results, the majority (41%) stated that they approve of the President’s performance, while 3% said they strongly approve, followed by 31% who were neutral saying they neither approved nor disapproved. Also, 21% of the respondents polled said they disapprove and 4% said they strongly disapproved. Overall, a total of 44% of the respondents (41% + 3%) approve the performance of the president; while a total of 25% (21% +4%) disapprove of his performance.
Analysis of the result by geo-political zone shows, some important disparities emerge. The approval rating of the President is highest in the South-East (59% in total) and South-South (56% in total); and lowest in the North-Central (29% in total). Also, the North-Central and North-West have the highest proportion of respondents that disapprove of the Presidents job performance (both 34%). It is also pertinent to highlight that the North-West has the highest proportion (38%) of Nigerians who are neutral and neither approve or disapprove of the Presidents job performance.
When current results are compared with the results the April 2013 poll, there was a 2-point increase in the approval rating of President Goodluck Jonathan (from a total of 42% in April 2013 to 44% at present). Also, the proportion of Nigerians that disapprove of his performance has declined by 8-points (from a total of 33% in April 2013 to 25% at present). In addition, the percentage of respondents that rated the president’s performance as neutral has increased by 6-points (from 25% to 31%). These results clearly show that the majority of the respondents currently approve of the President’s performance and his approval rating has slightly improved in the past 1. In comparison to previous monthly poll results released by NOI Polls, the May 2013 results present a reversal of the downward trend in the approval ratings observed over March and April.
The second question sought to gauge the opinions of Nigerians regarding the performance of the entire administration – the ministers at the federal level, and the governors and their respective cabinets at the state levels. Respondents were asked: How would you rate the performance of the current administration in the last month? In response, overall the majority (50%) said the administration has “performed averagely”, followed by 23% who are of the opinion that “they have performed poorly”. In addition, 20% said “they have performed well”, while 5% said “they have performed very poorly”, and 1% said “they have performed very well.
Once again, results analysed in more detail show some interesting highlights. In the current month of May, the North-East region has the highest proportion of respondents that think the current administration has performed well (38% in total). On the contrary, the North-West region has the highest proportion of respondents that think the administration has performed poorly (40% in total).
A comparison with results from the Governance poll conducted in April 2013 shows that opinions of Nigerians about the performance of the current administration have improved slightly over the past month. The results show that in this current month of May 2013, there is a 3-point decline in the proportion of respondents that perceive the administration as performing poorly (a total of 28% in May, compared to 31% in April). Also, there was a 3-point increase in the number of respondents that perceive the administration as performing well (a total of 21% in May, compared to 18% in April). The proportion of respondents who were neutral about the administrations performance remained at 50% in May, same as in April.
Finally, the third question sought to establish the state of power supply in the country over the past month. Therefore, respondents were asked: How would you describe power supply in your area in the last 1 month? Current results show that the majority (32%) stated that their power supply “has improved a little” and this is closely followed by 26% who stated that the power situation “remains bad”. Furthermore, 21% of Nigerians said “there’s no difference at all”; while 18% stated that “it’s very bad and has gone worse”. A meagre 3% of the respondents were of the opinion that power supply “has improved very much”.
Looking across the geo-political zones, there are a few differences that are worth noting. The South-East (51% in total) and North-Central (47% in total) have the highest proportion of respondents that think that power supply has improved; followed by the South-West (36% in total). The majority in the North-West (34%) that stated that there has been no difference at all in their power supply. The North-East (57% in total) and North-West (56% in total) had the highest proportion of respondents that said power supply “remains bad” and “it’s very bad and has gone worse” (26%).
A comparison with results from the poll conducted in April 2013 shows a slim change in the power supply situation in Nigeria. In May, fewer people claimed their power supply was bad or had worsened (a total of 44% in May compared to 51% in April). Also, the proportion of respondents whose power supply had improved slightly or very much increased by 4-points (a total of 35% in May compared to 31% in April). Furthermore, the percentage of respondents who observed no difference in their power supply declined by 3-points (a total of 21% in May, compared to 18% in April).
In conclusion, the results from the current poll have revealed that the majority of Nigerians approve of the job performance of President Goodluck Jonathan in the month of May 2013, with a 2-point improvement in the ratings compared to April. Also in May, slightly more Nigerians think the current administration is performing well compared to April. Finally, compared to April 2013, the current poll results show a slight increase in the proportion of Nigerians that experienced improvement in their power supply; as well as a decline in those who perceive their power supply as very bad in the month of May 2013.
Survey Methods
The opinion poll was conducted on April 20th to 22nd 2013. It involved telephone interviews of a random nationwide sample. 1,009 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 3%. NOI Polls Limited is Nigeria’s leading opinion polling and research organisation, which works in technical partnership with the Gallup Organisation (USA), to conduct periodic opinion polls and studies on various socio-economic and political issues in Nigeria. More information is available at www.noi-polls.com
Disclaimer
This press release has been produced by NOI Polls 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 NOI Polls be acknowledged as author whenever and wherever our poll results are used, cited or published.
NOI Polls 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 NOI Polls 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 NOI Polls’ current findings and/or thinking.
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