Search Results
Search this site
671 results found with an empty search
- New Poll Reveals Nigerians’ Preference For Middle-Aged Presidential Candidates In 2019
Abuja, Nigeria. June 15th, 2017 – A new poll conducted by NOIPolls in partnership with Business Day Media has revealed that Nigerians would prefer middle-aged candidates for the country’s 2019 presidential elections. Spurred by the recent victory of French President, Mr Emmanuel Macron and increasing discussions in the social space, particularly the #NotTooYoungToRun Campaign led by the youth advocacy organisation YIAGA, this latest poll sought to glean the perceptions and opinions of Nigerians regarding their age preference for presidential candidates in the 2019 elections. Interestingly, the poll found that 64 percent of Nigerians say they would prefer to vote for a presidential candidate between the ages of 40 and 50 years; and this was followed in a distance by 15 percent who prefer candidates between 51 and 60 years. Specifically, ages 50 years (33 percent) and 40 years (21 percent) constituted the highest precise age preferences cited by Nigerians. Similarly, almost half of those interviewe (48 percent) expressed their preference for middle-aged presidential candidates, and when probed on why the reasons for their preference, 44 percent say “they combine youthful energy and maturity”, while 23 percent say “they are more mentally alert”. Similarly, 35 percent expressed support for young candidates; and further cited the following reasons for their preference: “they bring new and fresh ideas” and “they are more vibrant than the elderly”. Furthermore, the poll revealed that 73 percent of Nigerians are willing to support independent candidacy. In order words, even though there currently isn’t the provision for independent candidacy in the country’s Electoral Act, Nigerians say they would be willing to support individuals who may decide to run for elective positions on their personal strength, without being affliated to any political party. In addition, when asked about what would influence their choice of candidates or political parties in the 2019 elections, almost 5 in 10 Nigerians (49 percent) say they would vote for candiates who have “Integrity”. This was followed by 27 percent and 18 percent who stated that their voting decision would be influenced by “Track record and experience” and “Political agenda or manifesto” respectively. Finally, the poll sought to examine some of the factors militating against young professionals from participating in politics, and top amongst the factors identified include: Financial constraint (40 percent), Godfatherism and political cabal (23 percent), Lack of experience (15 percent) and Lack of political platforms (10 percent). We hope that the results and findings from poll would begin to stimulate conversations and debates, and have implications on electoral reforms, particularly on the issues of age restrictions and independent candidacy; internal political party reforms and the wide youth inclusiveness question, party candidate selection limits and criteria, and strengthen advocacy for the #NotTooYoungToRun Bill amongst others. These are some of the key findings from the 2019 Presidential Candidate Age Preference Poll. The poll was conducted in the week commencing May 22nd, 2017. Brief Background The use of the catch-phrase: ‘Youths are the leaders of tomorrow‘ has constantly been called to question in the leaderhip and socio-political discourse of the Nigerian state. The question has always been- when exactly would tomorrow come to allow young people take over the mantle of leadership? Chief Anthony Enahoro, a man that is arguably one of the most respected supporters of independence and founding fathers of Nigeria was barely 30 when he moved the historic motion for ”self rule” in the Federal House in February 1953.[1] Yet, current evidence shows that a young adult of that age cannot be found among the Senators of the 8th Assembly today because Section 65 (1)(a) of the 1999 constitution sets the age of 35 as the minimum age for election into the Nigerian senate. Barack Obama made history as the first black president of the United States of America, at age 47. Similarly, in 2015, Justin Trudeau surprised the world by becoming the Canadian Prime Minister at age 44. Today, the news revolves around a former investment banker, Emmanuel Macron, who has defied all odds to become the youngest President of France at the youthful age of 39 years. One wonders if there’s any hope for young Nigerians aspiring for elective leadership positions in the country. Nonetheless, one significant ray of hope for the Nigerian youth today is the bill referred to as the #NotTooYoungToRun Bill, seeking to lower the constitutional age requirement for contesting for elections in Nigeria and seeking to usher in independent candidacy into Nigeria’s electoral process, as sponsored by Hon. Tony Nwulu representing Oshodi/Isolo II Federal Constituency of Lagos state.[2] The bill, if passed will provide more political space for Nigerian youths, by according them with eligibility to vie for political offices in Nigeria. However, there are some critical question that beg for answers: (1) Are Nigerian youths ready (culturally, academically, professionally, psychologically and otherwise) to take the bull by its horn? (2) Is the political landscape conducive to promote young people with fresh ideas venture into politics? Are Nigerians ready and willing to welcome young people to lead the country into the 21st century? In light of the above, NOIPolls recently conducted a public opinion poll in partnership with Business Day Media, seeking to understand the perceptions and opinions of Nigerians regarding their age preference for the 2019 presidential candidate, as well as gauging their views on the knotty subject of Independent Candidacy. Please note that we have applied loose definition to the words: young, middle-aged (working class) and elderly (retired or about to retire) in this poll, to be guided by the perception of the average Nigerian. Survey Findings We started out the poll by seeking respondents age preference for presidential candidates in the 2019 elections. Interestingly, the findings revealed that 48 percent of Nigerians polled indicated that they would prefer middle-aged presidential candidates, particularly in the South-East (67 percent) and North-Central (63 percent) geo-political zones of the country. This was followed by 35 percent of the respondents who expressed their preference to see young persons emerging as candidates in 2019; and as expected, respondents aged between 18 – 35 years accounted for the largest proportion (37 percent) in this category. Curiously, 10 percent of respondents affirmed their preference for elderly presidential candidates. Subsequently, respondents were further probed for reasons for their preference; and of the 48 percent who desire middle-aged presidential candidates the following reasons were cited: (1) they combine youthful energy and maturity (48 percent); (2) they are more mentally alert (23 percent); they have the capacity to be better leaders (15 percent) and they would be more responsible (14 percent). On the other hand, those who prefer young presidential candidates justify their position by stating that young people bring new and fresh ideas (50 percent) and they are more vibrant than the elderly (30 percent), in addition those who say the elderly ones have failed the country (13 percent). The poll also sought the opinion of Nigerians regarging a maximun age for prefered presidential candidates for the 2019 election. Interestingly, a significant majority of respondents (64 percent) stated that they would prefer candidates between the ages of 40 and 50 years, categorized as middle-age. This was followed by 15 percent of respondents who said they would prefer presidential candidates between the ages of 51 to 60; while 7 percent said they would prefer young candidates aged between 18 to 39 years. Further analysis by goe-political zone revealed that the North-Central (75 percent) and South-East (66 percent) geo-political zones had the largest proportion of respondents who prefer presidential candidates aged between 40 – 50 years. In the same vein, respondents aged 18 – 35 years (69 percent) accounted for the highest proportion who prefer presidential candidates aged between 40 – 50 years. Subsequently, respondents were asked if the current political structure encourages young professionals to contest for public offices; and the findings revealed that at least two-thirds of respondents (64 percent) simply answered “No”, which highlights a negative perception regarding the lack of political space for young professionals in the country. On the contrary, about a third (36 percent) affirmed that the current political structure encourages young professionals to contest for public offices. Respondents were also asked if they would be willing to support independent candidacy in the 2019 presidential election; and a significant proportion of the respondents (73 percent) expressed their willingness to support independent candidates. In order words, even though there currently isn’t the provision for independent candidacy in the country’s Electoral Act, Nigerians are of the opinion that if such provision is made, they would be willing to support individuals who may decide to run for elective positions on their personal strength, without being affliated to any political party. However, on the contrary, 27 percent say they will not support independent candidacy. Interestingly, across gender, geo-political zones and age groups, majority say they would support independent candidacy. Upon further probing on factors that would influence the voting decision in the 2019 elections, resuts from the poll revealed that almost half of the respondents nationwide cited “Integrity” as the most important factor that will ultimately influence voting decisiob. This was followed by “track record and experience” (27 percent) and “political agenda/manifesto” (18 percent) to make the top three influencing factors identified by respondents. Lastly, the poll revealed that although a vast majority of Nigerians say they would support young to middle-aged pesidential candidates in 2019, there are still some key hinderances preventing young professionals from vying for elective public offices. Top amongst the factors mentioned by respondents include: financial constraints (40 percent), godfatherism and political cabal (23 percent), lack of experience (15 percent) and lack of political platforms (10 percent) amongst others. In conclusion, the poll has revealed that most Nigerians prefer young (35 percent) to middle-aged (48 percent) presidential candidates in the 2019 presidential elections; and 73 percent have expressed their support for independent candidacy. We hope that these results and findings would stimulate conversations and debates in the media and social space; and have deeper implications at least on the following: (1) electoral reforms, particularly on the discussions around age restrictions and independent candidacy; (2) internal political party reforms and the wider subject of youth inclusiveness, candidate selection limits and criteria, and (3) further strenthen advocacy for the #NotTooYoungToRun Bill amongst others. Finally, the statistics are clear, young people have the numbers and are becoming more active in the social space. There’s need to translate active social engagement and social media activism into actual political party considerations, which would witness a massive incursion of young people into the political terrain, and taking the bull by the horn, to vie for elective positions come 2019. Survey Methods The opinion poll was conducted in the week commencing May 22nd, 2017. It involved telephone interviews of a random nationwide sample. 1,000 randomly selected phone-owning Nigerians aged 18 years and above, representing the six geo-political 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%. 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. For more information visit our website 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. Press Contact The Editor Email: editor@noi-polls.com [1] https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/feb/08/chief-anthony-enahoro-obituary [2] https://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2016/06/21/age-of-candidacy-bill-a-renewed-hope-for-nigerian-youths/
- President Buhari’s March 2017 Presidential Approval Rating stands at 55%
Abuja Nigeria, April 18th, 2017 – Latest Presidential Job Approval rating conducted by NOIPolls revealed a 5-point increase to stand at 55 percent in March, 2017. The rise in the President’s job performance rating was seen across the six geo-political zones and the North-East zone with 31-points had the highest proportion of Nigerians in this category. This increase in the job approval rating could be attributed to the President’s return from medical leave and the continued deliberations around the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan, with the main objective of restoring growth, investing in and building a globally competitive economy. Additionally, the Central Bank’s policy intervention on foreign exchange which has further improved the value of the Naira in the global market could also have contributed to this increase. Further findings revealed that the rationale for approval of the President’s job performance was centered around the perceived ‘slight reduction in the prices of goods and services’ (25 percent), ‘improved level of security’ (20 percent) and ‘slight improvement in the economy’ (15 percent) amongst other positive reasons. Conversely, 35 percent of the respondents who disapproved of his job performance reported ‘general hardship and high poverty rate’ (40 percent), ‘high cost of goods and services’ (25 percent) and ‘worsening state of the economy’ (15 percent) as reasons for their disapproval. These are some of the key findings from the Governance poll conducted by NOIPolls in the week commencing 27th March 2017. These results represent the twenty-second approval rating in a monthly series of governance polls conducted by NOIPolls to gauge the perceptions of Nigerians regarding the job performance of the President. Survey findings Following the return of the President on 10th, March 2017, there were heightened expectations of Nigerians to see him continue to discharge his duties especially in an economy which is currently in recession amidst high inflation.[1] In order to assess the general perception of Nigerians regarding the performance of President Buhari over the past one month, NOIPolls conducted the presidential approval rating for the month of March, 2017 and findings from the poll revealed that 55 percent of adult Nigerians interviewed approved of the President’s job performance. This current rating represents a 5-point increase from February 2017 rating (50 percent) of Vice President Osibanjo (who was the Acting President during that period); indicating an improved perception from previous months. On the other hand, 35 percent disapproved of his performance, while 10 percent remained neutral, neither approving nor disapproving of his performance. It is also worth noting that the increase in the job performance of the president was observed across all the six geo-political zones. Subsequently, respondents who approved of the President’s job approval rating gave various reasons ranging from ‘slight reduction in prices of goods and services’ (25 percent) ‘improved level of security’ (20 percent) and ‘slight improvement in the economy’ (15 percent). Other reasons for the approval included ‘I liked the President’s style of leadership’ (13 percent) ‘distribution of Agro-allied products to farmers’ (10 percent) and ‘fight against corruption’ (10 percent) and lastly, ‘strengthened value of the Naira’ (7 percent). Respondents who disapproved of the President’s job performance claimed that there is ‘general hardship and high poverty rate’ (40 percent), ‘high cost of goods and services’ (25 percent), ‘worsening state of the economy’ (15 percent), ‘high unemployment rate’ (12 percent) and ‘poor state of power supply’ (8 percent). In conclusion, the poll has revealed that the presidential job performance evaluation for the month of March 2017 has increased to 55 percent. While this marginal increase is laudable, massive inroads still have to be made in terms of curbing inflation and poverty rates which still remain the highest reason for disapproval of the President’s job performance. Additionally, Government must focus on the adequate implementation of recommendations outlined by the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan to ensure sustainable economic growth and national development. Survey Methods The public opinion poll was conducted in the week commencing March 27th, 2017. 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 3%. 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 , you can also download NOIPolls Mobile App from the Google and Apple Playstore. 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. Press Contact The Editor Email: editor@noi-polls.com [1]http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/03/muhammadu-buhari-returned-home-state-media-170310065849423.html
- 2017: Employment, Business Start-Up Top Priority for Nigerians; Positive Outlook Maintained on Secur
Abuja, Nigeria. January, 2017 –Latest public opinion poll results released by NOIPolls have revealed some of the personal goals and aspirations that Nigerians have for 2017, such as the desire to secure employment or change existing jobs (37 percent), starting up new businesses (16 percent) and getting closer to God (14 percent) amongst others. This finding further corroborates several media reports on unemployment and under-employment being one of the major problems that the government needs to tackle.[1] Furthermore, the efforts of the present administration to tackle the security issues in Nigeria has no doubt influenced the perception of Nigerians towards the security of the nation, as 87 percent asserted that they are hopeful that the security situation in the country will be better than it was in 2016. The huge achievement by the security forces in recapturing the Boko Haram stronghold of Sambisa Forest may have played a role in the current perception on the state of security in Nigeria[2]. Also, 82 percent are optimistic that the economic situation of the country will improve; with 79 percent optimistic that more jobs will be created in 2017. This may not be unconnected with the Federal Government’s social investment program aimed at creating jobs for youths, tagged N-Power. Besides, the recent passage of the bill recognizing the National Peace Corps as a Federal Government Parastatal, under the Ministry of Interior, has become a veritable channel for job creation. Lastly, when Nigerians were asked what they would do to move the country forward, some said they will be more law abiding (29 percent), create employment through their various businesses (18 percent), become patriotic (11 percent) amongst others. Therefore, the federal government of Nigeria should uphold its tempo at reviving the economy of the country while its citizens should take the right steps towards the advancement of Nigeria. These were some of the key findings from the New Year special poll conducted in the week of January 9th, 2017. Brief Background Every New Year brings a lot of excitement, hopefulness and aspiration, and as 2017 beckons, majority of people all over the world are full of expectations, so also are Nigerians. There is hopefulness of a new dawn of possibilities since the nation has been faced with multitudes of challenges characterised by various issues in the preceding years such as the activities of Boko Haram insurgents in the North-East, recent Southern Kaduna killings in the North-West[3], activities of the Independent People of Biafra (IPOB) in the South-East as well as the Niger Delta Avengers in the South-South, and the herdsmen menace in the North Central, just to mention a few. Business activities have been grounded by these happenings in all those troubled spots and were also complemented by irregular power supply, unemployment, poor exchange rate against the dollar, kidnappings, economic recessions and other crimes which are capable of undermining the development and progress of Nigeria. The Federal government of Nigeria (FGN), during the presentation of its 2017 Appropriation Bill, nicknamed the budget of recovery and growth, to a joint session of the National Assembly had promised that it has taken necessary steps to stimulate the economy and gave assurances of various investments in key sectors and that those steps were taken to restore business confidence that will guarantee the country’s speedy recovery from recession in 2017.[4] In view of this, NOIPolls conducted its Annual New Year Special Edition Snap Poll survey to ascertain the personal aspirations of Nigerians in the New Year, as well as their optimism about the country and the necessary actions they would take for the purpose of developing the country. Survey Findings The survey results revealed that some Nigerians are either unemployed or are not satisfied with their current employment status as 37 percent, which formed the majority, mentioned that they are aiming at getting a job or to have a change of job as their personal goal for 2017. Unemployment is one of the most serious problems facing developing nations today and Nigeria is no different. Being the most populous country in Africa with a population of over 170 million people, Nigeria is blessed with diverse human and material resources. However, her resources have been left under-utilized leading to mass unemployment and abject poverty. Poll findings also revealed that 16 percent of the respondents disclosed that they aspire to start a business and this could have been triggered by the theories by some economic experts that the year 2017 will be good for businesses to thrive in Nigeria.[5] Also, 14 percent asserted that they would be more religious and this supports a research that ascribed Nigerians as one of the most religious people on earth.[6] The current economic hardship that Nigerians are faced with also played out as 12 percent indicated that they would cut down their expenses, additionally, there is the quest to seek for added knowledge and qualifications as another 12 percent indicated that they would further their education. Some other mentions include ‘improving my business’ (8 percent), ‘get married this year’ (8 percent) and ‘build my own house and buy a car’ (7 percent) among others. The poll also sought to find out the expectations of Nigerians for 2017 with regards to some issues that affect the wellbeing of the citizens including the economy, security and employment and findings revealed high expectation and optimism around these issues. The larger proportion (87 percent) is optimistic that security will be better this year; similarly, 82 percent of the respondents are hopeful that the economy will be better than last year, while 79 percent stated that they look forward to the employment situation in Nigeria becoming better than it was in 2016. Furthermore, to determine what Nigerians could do as individuals to contribute in moving the nation forward, the survey revealed some Nigerians (29 percent) especially respondents from the North-West (38 percent) and South-East (35 percent) zones aim to be more law abiding in 2017. More findings revealed that 18 percent of the respondents basically from the South-West zone (26 percent) disclosed that that they intend to create employment through their businesses and this could go a long way in reducing unemployment in the country if it could be actualised. It is also worthy to note that this zone houses Lagos state which is the economic hub of the country. In addition, a section of Nigerians (11 percent) stated they would be patriotic citizens whereas, another proportion (8 percent) believe that prayers will make a positive impact in the country among other positive contributions. Conclusively, the recent poll results have revealed that 37 percent of adult Nigerians surveyed disclosed that they look forward to getting a job or to have a change of job as one of their personal goals in 2017 while 16 percent aspire to start a business so as to have multiple streams of income. More findings revealed that most Nigerians are very optimistic of a very good living in 2017 as the vast majority of Nigerians are enthusiastic that the security (87 percent), economic (82 percent) and employment (79 percent) situations in Nigeria will be better than it was last year. Finally, Nigerians have asserted that they will be more law abiding (29 percent) and that they will create employment through their various businesses (18 percent) as part of their contribution towards moving the nation forward. Therefore, the federal government of Nigeria should uphold its tempo at reviving the economy of the country while citizens take the right steps towards the advancement of Nigeria. Survey Methods The opinion poll was conducted in the week of January 9th 2017. 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 3%. 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. Press Contact The Editor Email: editor@noi-polls.com [1] http://venturesafrica.com/10-critical-issues-nigeria-will-face-in-2016/ [1] http://www.vanguardngr.com/2016/12/buhari-salutes-nigerian-army-capturing-sambisa-forest/ [1] http://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/top-news/218371-n-power-verification-200000-graduates-completed-13-states.html [1] https://www.channelstv.com/2016/11/24/senate-passes-nigerian-peace-corps-bill/ [1] http://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/more-news/212932-el-rufai-imposes-24-hour-curfew-kafanchan-soldiers-deployed.html [1] http://www.vanguardngr.com/2016/12/president-buhari-speech-at-the-presentation-of-2017-budget-of-recovery-and-growth/ [1] http://leadership.ng/news/562570/2017-will-be-good-for-businesses-experts-project [1] http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/11530382/Mapped-These-are-the-worlds-most-religious-countries.html [1] http://venturesafrica.com/10-critical-issues-nigeria-will-face-in-2016/ [2] http://www.vanguardngr.com/2016/12/buhari-salutes-nigerian-army-capturing-sambisa-forest/ [3] http://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/more-news/212932-el-rufai-imposes-24-hour-curfew-kafanchan-soldiers-deployed.html [4] http://www.vanguardngr.com/2016/12/president-buhari-speech-at-the-presentation-of-2017-budget-of-recovery-and-growth/ [5] http://leadership.ng/news/562570/2017-will-be-good-for-businesses-experts-project [6] http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/11530382/Mapped-These-are-the-worlds-most-religious-countries.html
- Presidency describes alleged polls by APC as amateur
Excerpts of news mention on Daily Trust Newspaper: In a statement in Abuja, the Special Adviser Media to the President, Dr. Reuben Abati, described as suspicious, the parameters and variables used in the said polling. Dr. Abati observed that the APC does not even have a candidate now and wondered whether the polling without a candidate could be valid. He advised the APC to secure the services of professional polling agencies such as the NOI polls, which showed that President Jonathan secured a sixty-one per cent job performance rating. Read more below: http://ww2.radionigeria.gov.ng/frnews-detail.php?ID=8469
- Nigerians Seek Government Intervention to Regulate House Rent
Abuja, Nigeria. October 25th, 2016 –Latest public opinion poll results released by NOIPolls Limited has revealed that at least 5 in 10 (56 percent) residents in four major Nigerian states of; Lagos, Rivers, Kano and the FCT still live in rented apartments, 25 percent of these same say they live in personal homes, 16 percent live in their family houses and a paltry 3 percent live in Company/Government owned apartments.Results also showed that 87 percent of residents of these cities advocate for government to regulate house rent in the country. This is mainly due to the high cost of housing in these areas as 65 percent pay between 101, 000 – 500, 000 Naira as rent annually. Although 30 percent revealed that proximity or convenience is of high priority when renting an apartment, as a large proportion of respondents in this category (43 percent) attributed this to the level of traffic congestion in the state prompting residents to rent apartments based on nearness to the locations they frequently visit. Furthermore, 52 percent expressed their dissatisfaction on their housing conditions while 48 percent asserted that they were satisfied with their housing conditions. These were some of the key findings from the Housing Poll conducted in the week of October 17th, 2016. Brief Background Adequate housing is one of the best indicators of a nation’s standard of living for its citizens. According to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs (which is a theory that prioritizes man’s needs in a tiered model), Safety needs, of which shelter is a component, is the second most basic need of man, right after physiological needs such as food, water, warmth and rest. Nigeria has experienced a phenomenal rise in the population of city dwellers without a corresponding increase in housing units which has consequently led to an acute shortage of habitable dwelling places in most cities over the past three decades. In many cases where you have available housing units, they are often expensive and remain uninhabited due to unaffordability. This results in overcrowding, homelessness, inadequate and poor infrastructure, poor living conditions, increased rate of poverty and its associated social vices. In 1991, Nigeria established a new housing policy that was intended to provide solutions to the housing problems of her growing population. Twenty years later, the government confessed its inability to achieve the then set objectives and sought to review the National Housing Policy. In 2012, Nigeria got her latest National Housing Policy which promised Nigerians real mass housing. Till date, the new housing policy formulated to provide housing for even the poorest of Nigerians has not been implemented.[1] Evidently, Rural-Urban migration has led to the high demands for new buildings in Nigeria’s developed cities like Abuja, Kano, Port Harcourt and Lagos states. There is an estimated 17 million housing deficit in Nigeria and this represents about 256 percent increase in housing demands since 1991.[2] Currently, Nigeria needs about 100 billion naira to implement a new housing strategy.[3] The new housing strategy will include low cost housing units with flexible payment options targeted at the poor masses. At present, there are a lot of complaints about the high cost of building in many cities. It is commonly reported that Abuja residents complain of high cost of rent and this has compelled most of its population to live in satellite towns where they can afford their own homes and cheaper rent.[4] For people who can afford to live in urban cities, there are observable mixed feelings about the conditions of the homes which are most often not worth the huge amount paid on rent. In view of this, NOIPolls conducted a survey on housing in Nigeria with emphasis on four states (Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt and Kano) based on their population and economic activities, to ascertain the general perceptions about housing. Survey Findings The survey results revealed that 56 percent of residents in Kano, Lagos, Rivers and Abuja live in rented apartments with residents from Lagos and Rivers States accounting for the highest proportion (74 percent respectively) in this category. This is not far-fetched as Lagos and Rivers States are both major trade centres, thus home to a lot of multinational firms as well as other major industries. The age-groups of between 18 – 35 and 36 – 60 years represent the majority of respondents who said they live in rented apartments and this could be suggestive of the heavy presence of the labour force in both states. Furthermore, out of the 56 percent who acknowledged living in a rented apartment, 85 percent of this proportion stated that they pay their rental fees annually and this cuts across gender and states. This is in line with some studies which have revealed that the most common mode of rental payment in Nigeria is annually[5]. Subsequently, the survey sought to find out the average amount paid for rent and the largest proportion (47 percent) of the respondents across the four focal states reported that they pay between 101, 000 – 250, 000 Naira. This infers that most people in these states live in satellite towns where such amounts are payable as rent averagely. This is followed by 28 percent who stated that they pay less than N100, 000, and Kano State had the highest proportion of respondents in this category which indicates affordability of housing in the state compared to other states surveyed. In addition, a meagre 1 percent admitted paying above 1,000,000 Naira as rent and this is mostly revealed by residents in Lagos (1 percent), Rivers (2 percent) and the F.C.T (2 percent). This could be attributed to the overpriced real estate, expensive hotels and inflation caused by the daily influx of both local and international migrants and expatriates. In ascertaining the satisfaction of the housing condition in the four focal states, responses revealed that a majority of respondents (52 percent) who stay in a rented apartment stated that they are not satisfied with their housing condition. In contrast, 22 percent expressed satisfaction with their housing condition whereas, 23 percent indicated they were somewhat satisfied with it. The survey result also revealed that a vast majority (30 percent) of respondents irrespective of the type of house they live in cited proximity or convenience to places they visit frequently as a factor that mostly influences their choice of residence. Lagos State had the largest proportion (43 percent) of respondents who revealed this, and it could be attributed to the level of traffic in the state prompting residents to rent accommodation based on its nearness to the location they frequently visit. Other factors that influence the choice of residence according to the respondents were serene environment (20 percent), Security (19 percent) and cheaper rent (15 percent) among others. Lastly, the opinion of Nigerians was gauged on house rent regulation by the government and the findings revealed that 87 percent of respondents stated that they want the government to regulate rent across the country. This cuts across gender, states, and age-groups. The issue of land speculators and land grabbers faced by land owners and the indiscriminate high rental fees could be the reason a majority of the respondents advocated for house rent regulations by the government. On the other hand, 13 percent were of the opinion that government should not be in the position to regulate house rent in the country. During the course of this survey, respondents in this category stated that the government did not build their houses for them, therefore they should be at liberty to make decisions on their properties. In conclusion, the recent poll results revealed that most residents (56 percent) in Kano, Lagos and the F.C.T. live in rented apartment with most of them (87 percent) paying between 101, 000 – N250, 000 Naira as rent annually. Though 52 percent expressed their dissatisfaction on the housing condition, 30 percent revealed that proximity or convenience is placed at high priority when renting an apartment. Hence, almost 9 in 10 respondents residing in Kano, Lagos, Rivers and the F.C.T are advocating for housing regulation from the government. In summary, emphasis should be placed on low and medium housing units to reduce the cost of housing, thus making it more affordable to many people. Also, middle and low income earners should be granted access to long term credit facilities with very low interest rates. Lastly, government should provide alternative strategies for house construction as well as provide favourable investment climate, infrastructure and mortgage insurance to low and middle income earners. Survey Method The opinion poll was conducted in the week of October 17th 2016. 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 3%. 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 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. Press Contact The Editor Email: editor@noi-polls.com [1] http://nigerianfinder.com/housing-policy-in-nigeria/ [2] https://economicconfidential.com/2016/01/housing-deficits-myths-realities/ [3] http://thenationonlineng.net/bridge-housing-deficit-fed-govt-stakeholders/ [4] http://www.housingnews.org.ng/high-cost-of-house-rents-in-abuja-which-way-out/ [5] http://dailypost.ng/2016/10/10/lagos-government-introduces-monthly-rent-payment-housing/
- Most IDPs Suffer from Lack of Food, Potable Water and Healthcare
In the words of some key stakeholders interviewed: “The quality of food in IDP camps is inadequate particularly for lactating mothers, young children and the elderly” – Legal Practitioner & Civil Society Advocate “The water is not enough for us. Don’t you see the long queue here? Since yesterday they have not put on the engine to pump water… For drinking, if those that are assisting us bring diesel, then we will have water. But if they do not come we will not have water to drink. I have to send my son out there to beg for water… It has been over a week now.” – Internally Displaced Person in Shuwari Camp Maiduguri “Most us do notknow where to go when we are sick because the health facility in the camp is grossly inadequate to carter for our health challenges and so we have to seek alternative means or the situation gets worse. The Doctors are nowhere to be found in most cases as they are always away and even when they are around, they give us the same kind of drugs for all ailments” – Internally Displaced Person in Bakassi Camp, Maiduguri. Finally, from the survey it is clearly obvious that the overall welfare of IDPs in the North-East is quite deplorable. Hence, it is imperative that Government, INGOs, CSOs, FBOs and other relevant stakeholders synergize properly and use these research findings to proffer solutions to the plights of IDPs in North-Eastern Nigeria. These are some of the key findings from the on-the-ground assessment Survey examining the situation of IDPs in North-Eastern Nigeria.The survey was conducted by NOIPolls over a period of 4 weeks in the month of July 2016. Brief Background According to a 2016 report by the United Nations, the Boko Haram insurgency has resulted into severe population displacement, disruption in livelihoods and acute food insecurity in Nigeria[1]. The North eastern states of Adamawa, Borno and Yobe have been the worst hit areas, with the areas witnessing several thousand deaths and millions of residents forced to abandon their homes in search of a safe haven; most of the IDPs take shelter in official camps, unofficial camps and host communities. A recent assessment by the medical team of an International medical humanitarian organization, Doctors Without Borders/Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), revealed that there is a health crisisin IDP camps in North-east Nigeria with about 24,000 cases recorded in a camp in Bama, Borno State[2]. More than 1,200 graves, many of them for children, have been dug near the camp in the last year alone according to MSF. The huge number of pregnant women, nursing mothers and children with little or no access to good medical health care facilities have surged the number of avoidable deaths in most of the camps[3]. Over the years, the Federal government, State governments, the United Nations, Private donors, INGOs, CSOs and FBOs as well as other relevant stakeholders have committed funds, introduced several interventions to ameliorate the sufferings of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the sub-region and improve on their general welfare. Sadly, it appears their conditions have not improved considerably as echoed by anecdotal evidences and other indications on the Nigeria media. For example, there was a protest recently by IDPs in Borno state.[4] It was against this background that NOIPolls conducted an on-the-ground situational assessment survey on the state of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe. Key Findings Poor Access to Food Overall, the findings revealed that there is serious inadequacy of food and dietary needs for IDPs across camps in the three focal states. Analysis of the survey data showed that about 85 percent of IDPs do not have access to adequate food, leaving only about 15 percent who claimed they have access to food. The reality here is that IDPs don’t eat up to three times a day; at most they feed twice a day across. Typically, IDPs are mainly provided with staple foods which do not deliver enough nutrition especially for babies, children, lactating mothers and the elderly. In the words of a stakeholder: “The quality of food in IDP camps is inadequate particularly for lactating mothers, young children and the elderly” – Legal Practitioner & Civil Society Advocate Difficulty Accessing Clean Water On access to potable water, 78 percent of IDPs described access to water as either ‘Poor’ (63%) or ‘Very Poor’ (15%). Only 10 percent of IDPs rated access to clean water as ‘Average’, while 12 percent considered access to clean water as ‘Good’ (7%) or ‘Very Good’ (5%). Some challenges often associated with water in most camps include lack of diesel to pump water from boreholes, which often results into a situation of water scarcity for several days, leading to poor hygiene and sanitary conditions, and incidence of deaths in IDP camps. Access to Healthcare The survey revealed that access to basic health care in IDP camps is very poor as 7 in 10 IDPs (69 percent) indicated that they do not have access to healthcare, with only 31 percent affirming some access to healthcare. Most of the camps visited could not boast of decent medical personnel and facilities to provide basic First-aid when the need arises. Majority of the key stakeholders interviewed attested to the inadequacy of healthcare personnel and facilities in the IDP camps, particularly for post-natal care. Also, most key informants stated that a portion of the female IDP population lack access to sanitary pads. Evidence of Human Right Violation and Sexual Abuse The data provided evidences highlighting issues of human right violation and sexual abuse of IDPs, perpetrated by various persons, ranging from unscrupulous camp officials and members of host communities (for unofficial camps), to older IDPs taking advantage of the younger vulnerable IDPs. From the survey, about 7% of IDPs indicated that they know someone who had been sexually abused on the camp. Regardless of the degree, we reckon that evidence of sexual abuse isn’t an issue that should be handled lightly; especially as the IDPs confirmed that the abuse was perpetrated by camp officials (66%), members of host communities (28%), and elders (6%). From our visit to some of the IDP camps, we found it disturbing that the rights of movements are being infringed upon, as camps have been turned into semi prison yards where IDPs are treated more like prisoners, and deprived of their human rights such as free movements in and out of the camps, owning phones, or communicating with the outside world. With the level of hardship experienced by IDPs, there was evidence to suggest the existence of the practice of “Sex for food’ or even “Sex for freedom of movement” in and out of the camps. Sexual abuse and exploitation in some cases were voluntary, as some of the female IDPs actually offer themselves to men in exchange for food or money to purchase food and basic female sanitary requirements. “I have reports of women being sexually harassed in camps by security agents, civilian JTF, and managers of camps. This information has reached us, we have investigated a few. We even an instance where a security agent raped a woman, who later gave birth to that child; and later we had to do interventions. Seriously this is happening in camps because from reports reaching us we have seen that there is sex in exchange for food, sex for freedom of movement in and out of the camps, and sex in exchange for money… I think there is no camp that we have not received cases of sexual abuse and molestation.” – Senior Female Lawyer & Advocate in Borno State Rising Mortality of IDPs Alarmingly, the survey revealed that the mortality rate across IDPs camps have been on the rise within the last few months, as 88 percent of IDPs indicated that there have been incidents of deaths in their camps over the last three months. This is likely triggered by the deplorable state of their welfare and poor sanitary conditions within the camps. Rise in Social Vices Further analysis of survey results indicated that, beyond the issue of insurgency, there is a troubling rise in social vice, especially among the younger population in IDP camps, who are now going into the consumption of illicit drugs, prostitution, gangsterism and other forms of social vices. In the words of some key stakeholders: “… In the evenings the IDP girls, they use to sneak out and go to do some prostitution, and make some money so that they can buy food for themselves.” – Senior Member of Borno Civil Society Coalition “Even amongst them, IDP to IDP, youngsters especially have started taking herbs and hard drugs. I was telling someone that until this crisis is over we will begin to count our losses because if you find out how our girls are being abused…” – Senior CSO Member in Yobe State. Reported Cases of Discrimination Finally, the survey revealed a rather worrisome trend of discrimination and marginalization along religious and ethnic lines within the camps. This challenge exists across IDP camps and seriously threatens the peaceful coexistence of IDPs. For a copy of the full report, kindly send email to: editor@noi-polls.com Survey Methods Thesurvey involved a mixed methodology comprising of both quantitative and qualitative data collection. Specifically, three main techniques were employed to collect data, they involved the mapping of key stakeholders which was employed to examine and document the activities of some of the major external actors working to provide support to the IDPs in the North-East region. It also involved face-to-face surveys which were conducted with over 400 IDPs across Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states given the limited access of our enumerators to the IDPs; convenience sampling was adopted to target IDPs in both official camps and unofficial camps. Finally, it involved the In-depth interviews with 15 key stakeholders which lasted for about 15-20 minutes; purposive sampling and snowballing techniques were adopted to identify key informants for the survey. These individuals include: civil society organizations (CSOs), international non-governmental organization (INGOs) & aid workers, faith-based organizations (FBOs), and local non-governmental organizations (NGOs) who are involved in providing various kinds of assistance and support to IDPs since the crises began in the North-East, as well as a few IDP camp officials and IDPs. This on-the-ground assessment regarding the situation of IDPs in the North-East was conducted over the course of the 4-Weeks (in July 2016), in English, Hausa, and Kanuri Languages. 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 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. Press Contact The Editor Email: editor@noi-polls.com [1] http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=54737#.V9PYXE0rLIU [2] http://www.msf.org/en/article/20160622-nigeria-least-24000-displaced-people-dire-health-situation-bama [3]http://www.forefrontng.com/public/index.php?page=Cover&story=The+Rot+In+Borno [4] http://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2016/08/26/idps-protest-poor-feeding-in-maiduguri/
- Nigerians cut down on expenses, adjust feeding patterns and resort to prayers as economic situation
Abuja, Nigeria. August 10th, 2016 – New public opinion poll released by NOIPolls in partnership with Business Day Media has revealed that about two-thirds of Nigerians (66 percent) have been lamenting the worsening state of their personal economic situation over the past three months. This they believe has been triggered by recent happenings in the macro and micro economic landscape, which have resulted into outcomes that have negatively impacted their personal economic wellbeing and living standard. Top on the list of some of such outcomes witnessed by Nigerians include: Increase in prices of goods and services (43 percent); Increase in petrol pump price (18 percent); Increase in the cost of transportation (10 percent); Devaluation and foreign exchange crisis (8 percent); Poor electricity supply (7 percent); Irregular payment of salaries (4 percent); Increase in electricity tariff (3percent). Clearly, these findings are corroborated by recent inflation figures released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), which revealed that headline inflation in May 2016 shot up to 15.6 percent, with about 1.9 percentage points increase on the previous month’s reading of 13.7 per cent; also being the highest recorded in more than 6 years.[1] From the poll results, 97 percent of the entire respondents acknowledge that these recent economic realities have had a negative effect of the general wellbeing of the average Nigerian. Consequently, this has led to the adoption of some coping strategies and measures by Nigerians to manage the impact of the current economic realities. Some of such strategies include: Cutting down on household expenses and luxury items; enduring the situation & seeking the face of God in prayers; adjusting family feeding patterns; creating alternative sources of income and engaging in subsistence agriculture, to mention a few. Finally, as remedies for improving their general wellbeing, Nigerians have suggested that the government focuses its attention on ‘improving the economy’ (33 percent), ‘investing in agriculture’ (15 percent), ‘controlling the price of goods and services’ (14 percent) and ‘reducing the pump price of petrol‘ (10 percent) amongst others. Remarkably, 4 percent of Nigerians believe that resolving the crisis in the Niger-Delta region would end the vandalisation of oil installations, sustain the country’s revenue from crude oil and help in reviving the economy; as well as improving the wellbeing of citizens. These were the key findings from a recent public opinion poll conducted on the economy by NOIPolls in partnership with Business Day Media. The poll was conducted in the week commencing July 25th 2016. Brief Background The uncertainties generated by the volatility in oil prices and the significant drop in government revenue, have affected the Nigerian economy. The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in Nigeria contracted 13.70 percent in the first quarter of 2016 over the previous quarter. GDP Growth Rate in Nigeria averaged 0.30 percent from 2013 until 2016, reaching an all-time high of 9.19 percent in the third quarter of 2015 and a record low of -13.70 percent in the first quarter of 2016[2]. Consumer prices in Nigeria jumped 15.6 percent year-on-year in May of 2016, following a 13.7 percent rise in the previous month. It was the highest reading in more than 6 years, as cost of food, housing, utilities and transport surged mostly due to 67 percent increase in gasoline prices. Nigeria struggles with rising import cost due to a weak naira after lower oil prices led to a decline in foreign reserves and as oil production reached a historical low in May after Niger Delta Avengers attacked Chevron oil facilities. On a monthly basis, consumer prices went up 2.75 percent[3]. The government of President Muhammadu Buhari has on May 11, officially stopped the subsidy regime on premium motor spirit. The price of petrol is now sold at N145 per litre[4]. There have been many rumours that the naira should be devalued against the U.S. dollar and other major foreign currencies. Currently the currency is exchanged at 355 naira to 1 dollar[5]. With the fluctuating dollar rate, increased fuel price and the double digit inflation, life in Nigeria is anything but easy. Nigerians struggle to go through their daily activities as the salaries and wages they receive have not increased despite the rising food prices. Salaries are still being owed despite the bailout funds[6]. According to the National Bureau of Statistics, Nigeria recorded over 500,000 job losses in the first quarter of 2016 and this has led to reduced monthly income of many households[7]. Some of the perceived survival strategies Nigerians are adopting in order to cope with the economy includes; reduction in the quality of meals, withdrawal of children from expensive schools, trekking long distances to work and businesses, reduction in regular travels, patronizing second hand clothing, embracing subsistence farming and reduction in entertainment expenses[8]. These reduce the quality of life of Nigerians, while increasing the misery index. To buttress this point, there has been newspaper articles reporting the agony faced by Nigerians as they grapple day-to-day life. One article in particular compiled some anecdotal evidences across the country, reporting that: there’s a growing army of dependent Nigerians, Nigerians are no longer the world’s happiest people, increase in the number of beggars in the streets[9], soup thieves are now on the prowl; incidents of parents offering their children as deposits and collateral; increase of emergency drivers; no imports, no jobs and no money; rising cost and scarcity of medication; increase in cases of liver infection; hospitals are becoming charity organisations; and increasing patronage of herbal homes & rising mortality rate amongst others[10]. Consequently, NOIPolls in partnership with Business Day Media conducted a new public opinion poll to access the perceptions of Nigerians regarding their current personal economic situation and coping strategies adopted to manage the economic situation, over the last three months. Survey Findings The poll revealed that about two-thirds of Nigerians (66 percent) stated that their current economic situation has worsened over the last three months. While 19 percent affirmed that it has improved, 15 percent reported that it has remained the same. These are reflective of the continued dissatisfaction of Nigerians regarding the state of the economy and their desire for an economic revival. Similarly, 83 percent acknowledged that they have observed some socio-economic activities that have affected their wellbeing while 17 percent stated otherwise. Furthermore findings from the poll revealed that 43 percent said they’ve observed increase in prices of goods and services; closely followed by those who observed Increase in petrol pump price (18 percent). Other occurrences observed include: Increase in the cost of transportation (10 percent); Devaluation and foreign exchange crisis (8 percent); Poor electricity supply (7 percent); Irregular payment of salaries (4 percent); Increase in electricity tariff (3percent); Low patronage to businesses (2 percent); and Scarcity of petrol & kerosene (2 percent) amongst others. In the same vein, an overwhelming majority (97 percent) claimed that the socio-economic occurrences mentioned above have affected them negatively. The poll also sought to ascertain the coping strategies and measures being adopted by Nigerians to manage the current economic realities. Interesting, 37 percent of the respondents revealed that they have ‘Cut down on household expenses & luxury items’; while 16 percent say they are ‘just enduring the situation and seeking the face of God in pray’. Also, 10 percent say they’ve had to ‘adjust their family feeding patterns’ suggesting a reduction in the quality and quantity of food they now consume. Other coping strategies mentioned include: ‘Creating alternative source of income’ (6 percent), ‘purchase of locally manufactured goods’ (6 percent) and ‘Engaging in subsistence agriculture’ amongst others. Amazingly, 14 percent of Nigerians ‘have not fashioned any strategy’ or measure to cope with these socio-economic events. Finally, the poll sought the opinion of Nigerians on what government should be doing to improve the socio-economic wellbeing of Nigerians. The results revealed that Nigerians are of the opinion that the government should as a matter of urgency work hard to ‘improve the economy’ (33 percent), ‘invest massively in agriculture’ (15 percent)’, ‘control the price of goods and services’ (14 percent) and ‘reduce the pump price of petrol‘ (10 percent) and ‘pay workers salary arrears across the nation’ (10 percent) amongst others. Notably, analysis showed that 4 percent of Nigerians are of the opinion that the government should ‘resolve the crisis in the Niger-Delta’ sub-region in order to end the vandalisation of oil installations, sustain the country’s revenue from crude oil and revive the economy; as well as improving the wellbeing of citizens. It is worth noting that we also found 14 percent of respondent who simply said they have done nothing to cope with the current economic realities. In summary, over-reliance on crude oil and failing to save for the rainy days have been blamed for Nigeria’s current economic hardship. The federal government recently reported that its earnings had declined by 40 per cent as a result of the extreme drop in oil prices, as well as, the persistent attacks on oil installations in the Niger Delta.[11] Therefore, it is pertinent for policy makers to understand why 15 percent of Nigerians are recommending diversification in terms of investment in agriculture to create alternative revenue-generating bases. Also, 14 percent want the prices of goods and services to be controlled like in the days of price control boards; while 10 percent want the price of fuel to be reduced as the increase has proven to have a relative negative effect on prices of goods and services and cost of transportation amongst others. In conclusion, the poll has shown that most Nigerians perceive their current wellbeing to have worsened within the last three months due to some socio-economic events that occurred with the period. However, economic downturn portends opportunities for repositioning and strengthening the economy for inclusive and sustainable growth. We welcome the government’s efforts at inviting some of the country’s leading economists for dialogue on how to move the economy forward. These are certainly times where all hands are required on deck. Researchers and pollsters are also needed to help the government in gathering primary data to better understand the situation of things, especially at the grassroots and also inform policy decisions. Survey Methods The opinion poll was conducted in the week commencing July 25th 2016. 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 3%. 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 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. Press Contact The Editor Email: editor@noi-polls.com [1] http://www.vanguardngr.com/2016/06/nigeria-inflation-hits-6-yr-high-15-6/ [2]http://www.tradingeconomics.com/nigeria/gdp-growth [3] http://www.tradingeconomics.com/nigeria/inflation-cpi [4] http://www.vanguardngr.com/2016/05/fuel-price-hike-nigeria-wasted-n10trn-subsidy/ [5] http://www.iproject.com.ng/economics/final-year-project-topics/the-effect-of-exchange-rate-fluctuations-on-the-nigeria-economy-4974/project-topic [6] http://dailypost.ng/2016/04/28/buhari-expresses-concern-over-inability-of-states-to-pay-salaries-despite-bailout/ [7]http://nigerianpilot.com/500000-nigerians-lose-jobs-3-months/ [8] http://www.mynewswatchtimesng.com/survival-strategies-of-nigerians-in-economic-depression/ [9] http://punchng.com/nigerians-groan-economy-bleeds-1/ [10] http://punchng.com/nigerians-groan-economy-bleeds-2/ [11] http://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2016/07/14/sgf-revenue-has-dropped-by-40-budget-will-be-partially-implemented/
- President Buhari’s Approval Rating Dips to 39 Percent in June 2016
Abuja Nigeria, July 20th, 2016 –Latest governance poll results released by NOIPolls have revealed that President Muhammadu Buhari’s job approval rating for the month of June 2016 stood at 39 percent. This latest score represents a 9-point decline when compared to the rating in May 2016 which stood at 48 percent. The survey also revealed a general decline in the approval rating of the President across 5 geopolitical zones, when compared to the month of May. The North-West zone at 61 percent recorded the highest approval rating, closely followed by the North-East zone with 59 percent. On the other hand, the South-East and South-South zones had the least approval rating of 8 percent and 24 percent respectively. Nigerians were also asked to rate the President on key indicators and results revealed a high level of dissatisfaction of Nigerians on the performance of the president in the areas of Conflict resolution (28 percent), Agriculture and Food Security (21 percent), Health Care (20 percent), Education (18 percent), Economy (15 percent), Job creation (13 percent), Infrastructure (13 percent), and Poverty alleviation (11 percent) as he was rated poorly in these areas. However Nigerians seemed to show some level of satisfaction with his performance in the areas of National Security (48 percent) and Corruption (45 percent), where he received the highest ratings compared to other indicators measured in the poll. Though the president received an average rating in the area of National Security, more needs to be done in conflict resolution, especially in controlling inter-communal and/or intra-communal conflicts evidenced by the increased herdsmen-farmers conflicts in some zones in recent times. This result is the thirteenth approval rating for President Muhammadu Buhari’s job performance and the 6th in the monthly series of governance polls for the year 2016. It represents the opinions and perceptions of Nigerians regarding the job performance of the President. These are some of the key findings from Governance snap poll conducted in the week of June 27th 2016. Survey Findings Findings from the poll revealed that the President’s approval rating stood at 39 percent in June 2016. Monthly trend analysis on the President’s performance rating revealed a 9-point decrease in his approval rating when compared to May 2016. This represents the lowest approval rating of President Buhari since NOIPolls started its approval ratings of the President 13 months ago; with the highest recorded in October 2016 at 80 percent. More findings from the poll revealed that almost 4 in 10 adult Nigerians (39 percent: 19 percent + 20 percent) approved the President’s job performance. On the contrary, 41 percent (23 percent + 18 percent) of the respondents disapproved of the President’s job performance whereas 20 percent were indifferent. Analysis by geo-political zone revealed that the North-West zone at 61 percent recorded the highest approval rating and this is closely followed by the North-East zone at 59 percent. The South-East zone at 8 percent had the least approval rating followed by the South-South zone at 24 percent. To further evaluate the performance of the President respondents were asked to rate him on some key indicators. The President received the highest rating in the area of National Security (48 percent) and Corruption (45 percent), suggesting some level of satisfaction of Nigerians with his performance in these areas. However, he was rated poorly in the areas of Conflict resolution (28 percent), Agriculture and Food Security (21 percent), Health Care (20 percent), Education (18 percent), Economy (15 percent), Job creation (13 percent), Infrastructure (13 percent), and Poverty alleviation (11 percent). The President’s high rating in the area of national security is an indication of perceived peace and gradual return of economic and agricultural activities especially in the North-East zone where insecurity has been a major problem. However, there are high expectations by Nigerians that the growing Fulani Herdsmen and Farmers conflicts in the North-Central, South-East, North-East and South-West zones, and the lingering bombing of pipelines by militant groups would be given adequate attention.[1] In conclusion, almost 4 in 10 Nigerians (39 percent) approved the President’s job performance in June 2016 and this represents the lowest approval rating since the President assumed office in May 2015. His ratings on some key indicators reflects dissatisfaction of the President’s performance in Job creation, Health Care, Infrastructure, Conflict resolution, Agriculture and Food Security, Education, Economy, and Poverty alleviation; while Nigerians showed some level of satisfaction with his performance in the area of national security and Corruption. Survey Methods The opinion poll was conducted in the week of June 27th 2016. 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 3%. NOIPolls Limited, 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 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. Press Contact The Editor Email: editor@noi-polls.com [1] http://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/206353-want-dialogue-niger-delta-avengers-others-nigerian-government.html
- President Buhari’s Approval Rating Averages At 64 Percent after One Year in Office
Abuja, Nigeria. May 29th, 2016– Today NOIPolls Limited releases its compilation of public opinion poll results on a monthly series of presidential approval rating to appraise the job performance of President Muhammadu Buhari, since assuming office on 29th May 2015; thereby commemorating the 1st year anniversary of his administration. The results revealed that over the last one year (June 2015 to May 2016) President Buhari has been rated an average job approval of 64 percent; with his highest rating of 80 percent in October 2015, and lowest rating of 42 percent in April 2016. Interestingly, compared to one year ago, 44 percent of Nigerians believe the country is currently moving in the right direction, while 37 percent believe it’s moving in the wrong direction; leaving only 19 percent who believe the country is neither moving in the right nor wrong direction. Furthermore, in terms of specific indicators, Nigerians rated the president’s performance on Corruption (55 percent) and National Security (47 percent) as average; while he was rated very poorly on Job Creation (14 percent) and handling of the Economy (21 percent). Finally, when asked of the most important issue President Buhari’s administration should focus its attention on addressing over the remaining three years of his tenure, Nigerians identified Unemployment (21 percent), Power (17 percent), and the Economy (16 percent) as the top priority areas. These are the key findings from the Presidential Approval Rating polls conducted between June 2015 and May 2016. Methodology & Socio-Demographics Upon President Muhammadu Buhar’s assumption into office exactly a year ago, on 29th May 2015, NOIPolls Limited – Nigeria’s premier public opinion organisation, has been conducting a monthly series of public opinion polls to gauge the opinions of Nigerians and measure the job performance of the president. The polls commenced in June 2015, and is typically conducted on the last week of the month to appraise the president’s job performance for the month, and 12 polls have been conducted so far in this series (June 2015 through May 2016). During this period, pollsters from NOIPolls have spoken to over 12,000 Nigerians across the country. Interestingly, of the proportionate sample of 12,000 completed interviews conducted over the 12 months period, 51 percent were male respondents, while 49 percent were female respondents. Also, almost 6 in 10 (59 percent) respondents were youths aged between 18 and 35 years of age; and almost 4 in 10 (38 percent) were adults between the ages of 36 and 60 years. A meagre 3 percent of the sampled respondents were aged 61 years and above. In addition, 24 percent of respondents were resident in the North-West geo-political region of the country; while 20 percent were resident in the South West; 15 percent each in the North-Central & South-South regions; as well as 14 percent from the North-East and 12 percent from the South-East region. Furthermore, 29 percent of the respondents were Self-employed traders, 18 percent were Civil servants, 13 percent were Students, 11 percent were Unemployed persons, 8 percent were Artisans, and 7 percent were Professionals amongst others. The first question sought to gauge the perception of Nigerians on the job performance of President Muhammadu Buhari. Respondents to the monthly poll were simply asked: Do you approve or disapprove of the job performance of President Buhari in the past 1 month? Analysis from the compiled results revealed that President Muhammadu Buhari had an average approval rating of 64 percent over the last one year, with the highest rating of 80 percent gained in the month of October 2015 and the lowest rating of 42 percent in April 2016. On the other hand, 19 percent on average disapprove the job performance of the president, while neither approved or disapproved his performance. Further analysis of the President’s approval rating based on geo-political zone indicated that the North-West and North-East geopolitical zones with 81 percent each had the highest proportion of respondents who approved of the president’s job performance, while the South-South and South-East zones with 35 percent each accounted for the highest proportion of respondents who disapproved the president’s performance. Interestingly, the average approval of 64 percent cuts across all age groups, although it appears more male than female respondents (67 percent versus 60 percent) seemed to approve his performance. Similarly, when respondents were further probed on why they approved or disapproved the job performance of the president, the open-ended answers provided were coded as follows (particular for the month of May 2016): those who approved the president’s job performance cited the improved security (31 percent), the fight against corruption (17 percent) and the president’s good intentions (16 percent) amongst other reasons. On the other hand, those who disapproved the president’s performance cited the worsening economy (30 percent), the unrealised expectation for change (29 percent) and the increase in prices of goods and services (21 percent) to mention a few. Furthermore, the poll asked respondents to rate the performance of President Muhammadu Buhari on some specific indicators and areas using a Likert scale of 1 to 5, where 1 is very poor and 5 is excellent. Unsurprisingly, President Buhari had his highest rating for his performance on Corruption with an average of 55 percent, where Nigerians believe his administration has made the greatest impact. This was followed by 47 percent for National Security and 43 percent for Power, both within average performance ratings. Unfortunately, President Buhari was rated very poorly for his performance on Job Creation (14 percent) and the worsened state of the Economy (21 percent), where Nigerians feel his administration has made the least impact. Poor performance ratings were also given for Education (23 percent), Agriculture & food security (24 percent), Healthcare (24 percent), and Conflict resolution (32 percent). In addition to rating specific indicators, in the May 2016 series of the poll, Nigerians were also asked a retrospective question of the direction they believe the country was moving, casting their minds back to one year ago when President Buhari took the oath of office. Interestingly, compared to one year ago, about 44 percent of Nigerians believe the country is currently moving in the right direction, (with 35 percent and 9 percent who believe Nigeria is moving to the “right direction” and “strongly right direction” respectively). Conversely, about 37 percent of respondents believe Nigeria is moving in the wrong direction (with 24 percent and 13 percent who believe Nigeria is moving to the “wrong direction” and “strongly wrong direction” respectively). However, about 19 percent of respondents seem neutral or believe the country is neither moving in the right nor wrong direction. Further analysis revealed that while respondents based in the North-East (65 percent) and North-West (59 percent) geopolitical zones make up the highest proportion of those who believe Nigeria is moving in the right direction; respondents from the South-East (62 percent) and South-South (53 percent) make up more of those who believe the country is moving in the wrong direction. Finally, Nigerians were given the opportunity to recommend the most important issue(s) that President Buhari’s administration should focus its attention on addressing in the remaining three years of its tenure. The result revealed that three key issues are paramount on the minds of Nigerians – Unemployment (21 percent), Power/Electricity (17 percent), and the state of the Economy (16 percent). Others include Food & Agriculture (11 percent), Education (9 percent), and Security (7 percent) amongst others. In conclusion, the results from the compilation of the monthly presidential approval ratings conducted by NOIPolls on President Buhari’s administration over the last one year puts the president’s job performance on an average overall rating of 64 percent. However, we note that his rating on specific indicators haven’t fared quite well as his highest rating was on Corruption where he scored an average of 55 percent where Nigerians believe his administration has made the greatest impact; followed by National Security (47 percent) and Power (43 percent) where he was rated averagely. President Buhari was also rated quite poorly for his performance on Job Creation (14 percent) and his handling of the Economy (21 percent), where Nigerians believe the impact of his administration has been negligible. On a final note, several areas have been identified by Nigerians as areas which should form the constant thoughts of the president, his ministers and aides, and the top three of these issues are: Unemployment, Power, and the Economy. It is important that the policy thrusts of this administration should focus on programmes and schemes to stimulate the economic climate to allow the private sector create jobs, tackle the incessant power outages & perpetual black-outs experienced in several areas of the country, and policies to kick-start the economy from its current worsened state. Polling Methods The polls involved telephone interviews of a proportionate nationwide sample of 12,000 randomly selected phone-owning Nigerians aged 18 years and above (1,000 completed interviews per month), representing the six geopolitical regions and 36 states & the FCT of the country. Interviews were conducted in 5 languages – Igbo, Hausa, Yoruba, Pidgin and English. Although we can say with 95% confidence that the results obtained were statistically precise (on a monthly basis) – within a margin of error of plus or minus 3%; we recognize that the exclusive use of telephone polling has its limitation of excluding non-phone-owning Nigerians. Nonetheless, with the country’s teledensity put at 106 percent by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), we consider our telephone polling approach appropriate. Also, given the rigorous scientific process of randomization & stratification applied, we can confidently stand by the validity of our methodology and approach. About NOIPolls 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 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. Press Contact The Editor Email: editor@noi-polls.com
- COMMEMORATING WORLD TELECOMS DAY
Abuja, Nigeria. MAY 17th, 2016 – Today, 17th May 2016, marks the World Telecommunication and Information Society Day (WTISD 2016). In commemoration of the day, NOIPolls is releasing a throwback of some previously released polls tracking Nigeria’s foray into the telecoms industry. With Nigeria’s launch of the Global System for Mobile (GSM) communication in 2001, when teledensity was merely 0.5 percent, recent statistics from Nigerian Communications Communication (NCC) put the country’s teledensity at 106.25 percent (March 2016) [1]; revealing an astronomical growth in access to telecommunication in 15 years. To substantiate these statistics, trended poll results by NOIPolls have also shown that most Nigerians make use of two lines, and this has grown from 45 percent in 2012 to 49 percent in 2015. Inspite of the sector’s growth and its attendant benefits which include employment, access to internet and data, improved means of communication and information sharing, supporting start-up companies, access to affordable means of communication, creating an innovative workplace, Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) of over 18 billion dollars and an addition of 4 percent to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP)[2] amongst others; the sector is still bedeviled with a number of challenges. Customers have consistently complained of issues such as high tariff, poor network service, undue credit deductions, dropped calls, excessive billing, charges for services not rendered etc. In this regard, the sector which has been considered hugely successful, has greater potentials for the future if the challenges identified by subscribers could be effectively dealt with. With the current expansion of the Nigerian telecoms industry owing to the introduction of new service and product offerings, it has become pertinent for NCC (which is empowered to establish minimum Quality of Service (QoS) standards) and other stakeholders to become more vigilant to ensure that consumers continue to have access to high quality telecommunications. We join the world today to celebrate the WTISD 2016 Brief Background The introduction of GSM phones in Nigeria revolutionized the telecommunications industry as in 15 years, (2001-2016) the country’s tele-density has grown from 0.5[3] percent to over 106[4] percent (NCC 2016). The sector remains one of the fastest growing sectors of the Nigerian economy; this astronomical growth can be attributed to the launch of Global System for Mobile (GSM) Communication. In 2001, Econet (now Airtel) and MTN Nigeria were licensed to launch their GSM network services, in quick succession was Globacom (now Glo) in 2003 and then Etisalat in 2007. Stiff competition also played a major role as telecoms companies in the scramble for subscribers, have made concerted efforts to extend their services outside of major cities and into rural areas. Over all, Nigeria’s telecoms industry has recorded huge successes and made giant strides technologically but it still faces hurdles that must be surmounted as factors like winds and rainfall still affect the performance of telecommunications and the manufacturing of some or all of the equipment used by the sector is still not localized leading to a lack of expansion in the sector[5]. Survey Findings Results from polls conducted by NOIPolls show that over the years, more Nigerians have adapted the use of two lines either from the same network provider or from two different operators. This trend has consistently increased from 2012 (45 percent) to 2015 (49 percent) with a total of 4-points within the period in view. Apart from the non-reliance of subscribers on one line due to some issues generally associated with mobile telecommunications in Nigeria, this trend may also have been promoted by an increased introduction of dual sim mobile devices in to the market, thus making it less expensive and more convenient to own more than one phone line. Analysis on value for money in the telecoms sector showed that some subscribers believed they weren’t getting appropriate value for their money’s worth and when probed further, results indicated that subscribers who reported they were not receiving value for money mainly emphasized high tariff, poor network service, poor promotions and undue credit deduction from their mobile network operators. This findings cuts across all operators, although with varying degree for individual operators. In conclusion, issues of high tariffs, poor network service and undue loss of credit have been recurring in the four years of tracking the Telecoms Industry and these problems are yet to abate, the National Communications Comission (NCC) must work with telecoms companies to address these issues. Policy makers must also note that telecommunication is unarguably a very important sector as its operations remain critical for the efficiency of other sectors. The advancement of ICT and Telecommunications is a huge imperative, as it has been said that Technology is the world’s next big thing making it the Holy Grail for nations looking to exit the recession. Nigeria as a nation currently facing an economic downturn needs to explore the huge potentials in ICT as a means of diversifying the economy and creating much needed jobs. Survey Methods These results are from public opinion polls conducted between 2012 and 2015 involving a mix of face-to-face and telephone interviews of a random nationwide sample of 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%. 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 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. Press Contact The Editor Email: editor@noi-polls.com [1] NCC. March 2016, Subscriber Statistics http://www.ncc.gov.ng/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=125&Itemid=73 [2] NigerianBestForum News 10 YEARS OF GSM REVOLUTION IN NIGERIA [3] http://www.academicjournals.org/article/article1379669155_Bakare%2520and%2520Lola.pdf [4] http://www.ncc.gov.ng/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=125&Itemid=73 [5] Onwumechili, C. 2001. Dream or reality: Providing Universal access to basic telecommunications in Nigeria? Telecommunications Policy. 25: 219-231
- The NOIPolls Consumer Confidence Index Declined by 4.9 Points while the Personal Wellbeing Index Hel
Abuja, Nigeria. March 24th, 2016 – The Q1, 2016 report of the Portfolio of Indices released by NOIPolls Limited revealed that the Personal Well-Being Index (PWBI), which entails the assessment of Nigerians on several aspects of their lives stood at 64.5 points; remaining the same when compared to the results obtained in Q4, 2015. This implies that Nigerians’ perception about their level of satisfaction has remained unchanged. An in-depth analysis of the several individual indicators that make up the PWBI revealed that Personal Security had the highest increase of 2.8-points followed by Health (1.2-points) and social Interaction (0.9-point) whereas all other indicators experienced a decline. The NOIPolls’ Consumer Confidence Index (CCI) decreased by 4.9-points to stand at 59.9-points in Q1, 2016 when compared with 64.8-points obtained in Q4, 2015. The CCI portrays the confidence an average household has in the economy of its country, in relation to the households’ monthly income. Also it generally reveals the level of confidence citizens have on monthly earnings and spendings. The decline experienced in the Q1, 2016 CCI indicates that the purchasing power of consumers has reduced and as expected, the revenue generation both in the private and the public sectors have reduced accordingly. However, it is imperative for the market speculators and the stakeholders in the Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) sector to take note of these findings and make use of it in understanding the nature of the previous features of the consumer confidence with respect to its impact on economic viability, while forecasting the future characteristics that the Nigerian market may exhibit. These are the key highlights from the Q1 2016 Portfolio of Indices Press Release. In February 2014, NOIPolls Limited introduced its portfolio of indices; the NOIPolls Personal Well-Being Index (PWBI), the NOIPolls Consumer Confidence Index (CCI) and the NOIPolls Eagle 30 Business Confidence Index (EBCI). The NOIPolls Personal Well-Being Index measures factors impacting on the lives of everyday Nigerians; thereby producing a complete view of the individual’s personal well-being. The NOIPolls’ Consumer Confidence Index provides consumer assessments of the economic situation and their intentions and expectations for the future. The NOIPolls Eagle 30 Business Confidence Index measures business leaders’ perceptions and expectations about the Nigerian business environment using the top 30 companies in the country. Nigerian businesses, financial and government agencies largely depend on their perceptions and micro assessment of consumers’ expectation in making decisions. At best, they draw conclusions on the business environment based on information from their immediate surroundings while the minorities conduct surveys that are time and money consuming. However, the introduction of these indices provides indicators that will ensure stakeholders can detect and respond to changes in consumer behavior, the economy, and the business environment in Nigeria. This report presents the Q1, 2016 results for the NOIPolls’ Personal Well-Being Index (PWBI) and NOIPolls Consumer Confidence Index (CCI). The NOIPolls Personal Well-Being Index (PWBI) The NOIPolls Personal Well-Being Index (PWBI) consists of seven items of satisfaction which are indicative of the perceptions of Nigerians regarding the value of their standard of living. In Q1 2016, PWBI stood firm at 64.5-points signifying that personal well-Being of Nigerians did not experience any change from the result witnessed in Q4, 2015. However, there were some differences in the indicators that make-up the PWBI. In addition, sub-components of the indices that make up the PWBI revealed that Nigerians were satisfied in terms of Physical Health (75.3-points), Social Interaction (78.1-points), and Religion (87.3-points). Successively, the results from Achievement in Life (53.4-points), Standard of Living (50.3-points) and Personal Security (66.1-points) indices revealed that Nigerians were somewhat neutral in terms of these indices, whereas some Nigerians were not satisfied with their Personal Economic Situation (40.9-points). The Economic Index experienced a decrease of 2-points in Q1, 2016 and it has consistently remained the lowest ranked indicator since 2015. Trend analysis revealed that Q1, 2016 PWBI remained the same when compared to the result obtained in Q4, 2015. The NOIPolls Consumer Confidence Index (CCI) The general wellbeing of a country’s economic situation is a reflection of the satisfaction level of its citizens. Therefore, the Consumer Confidence Index describes the overall stability of any given country’s collective purchasing power and in turn, brings about an increase or a decrease in the wealth of the country. In line with this, the NOIPolls’ Consumer Confidence Index in Q1, 2016 further declined by 4.9-points to stand at 59.9-points as against 64.8-points in Q4, 2015. This substantial decline suggests that consumers may have reduced their consumption in Q1, 2016 probably due to the perceived negative state of the nation’s economy. In conclusion, current results have revealed that the PWBI of Q1, 2016 did not change and still stands at 64.5-points as was obtained in Q4, 2015, implying that there is little or no growth in the economic landscape of Nigeria. Findings also showed that all the indicators that make up the PWBI experienced a decrease except the Personal Security, Health and Social Interaction which increased by 2.8-points, 1.2-points and 0.9-point respectively which could mean that the present administration’s stand on security has boosted this confidence. Conversely, the NOIPolls Consumer Confidence Index decreased by 4.9-points to stand at 59.9-points in Q1, 2016, inferring that consumers were hesitant to spend their money thus negatively affecting the economy Survey Methods The Personal Well-Being Index and Consumer Confidence Index Polls were conducted in Q1, 2016. The PWBI involved telephone interviews of a random nationwide sample. 3,000 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 3%. In addition the CCI involved telephone interviews of a random nationwide sample. 3,000 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 2%. NOIPolls Limited, 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 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. Press Contact The Editor Email: editor@noi-polls.com










