Media, Political Parties And Aspirants, Top Factors That Influence Nigerian Voters

A recent poll by NOIPolls Limited has revealed that the three main factors that affect the voting behaviour of Nigerian voters are “Political aspirants” (41%), “Political parties” (21%) and “Traditional media” (TV, radio & Newspapers) (19%).

This was contained in press statement released on Tuesday which also stated that more female respondents are influenced by “political aspirants” (46%) and “Political parties” (23%), while more male respondents are influenced by the “Traditional media” (23%).

Further findings revealed that almost 4 in 10 Nigerians (38%) of Nigerians are willing to accept a gift from a political party or aspirant if offered, and the majority (62%) would like to receive money as a gift. However when asked if the gift would influence their decisions, only 12% admitted a gift would certainly affect their voting decisions. Similarly, the willingness to accept a gift decreased with a progression in age since respondents aged between 18-21 years (65%) are most willing to accept a gift, and are also most likely to be influenced by a gift (43%) in their voting decisions.These were some of the key findings from the recent Countdown to the 2015 Election poll conducted in the week of June 16th 2014.

Brief Background
In Nigeria, there are internal and external factors that affect the voting decisions of citizens which in turn have implications on the overall outcome of elections. These are often the most crucial elements of elections in Nigeria because they are not limited to political parties, aspirants and the obligation of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in conducting a free and fair election.
 
NOIPolls conducted its latest Countdown to the 2015 Election poll with a focus on factors that influence voting decisions during elections which could in turn affect the voters’ behaviour and the outcome of elections. The Countdown to the 2015 Election Polls are conducted bi-Monthly by NOIPolls; the first one was conducted in February 2014.

Nigerians Rate Jonathan's Performance 58%

Elegbede Tayo

President Goodluck Jonathan's job performance for the month of May has been rated 58 % by some Nigerian adults through a poll conducted by NOIPolls. 

Latest governance poll results released by NOIPolls for the month of May 2014 revealed that 58% of adult Nigerians approve of the job performance of the President over the past month; indicating a 9-point increase in his approval rating from April 2014 which stood at 49%. 

This rating represents the second highest in the 17-month period that NOIPolls has been conducting its monthly governance poll from January 2013.  The increase in the President’s approval rating was mainly as a result of the substantial increase observed in those that approve of the President’s performance in the South-East, South-South and South-West zones.

The President has maintained an average ranking in his performance on Economy, Education, Health, Agriculture & Food Security, Transportation and Foreign Policy; Diplomacy, while his performance on Job Creation, Power and Security remains very poor. Furthermore, in May 2014 more Nigerians (42%) experienced an overall improvement in power supply over the past one month as against 29% in April. The largest proportion of respondents who saw an improvement in their power supply were situated in the South-East and South-South zones; a marked 23-point and 20-point increase respectively, which also accounted for the highest positive rating for the President. Findings from the poll also indicate that though there has been an improvement in power supply for the month of May, Nigerians are still not satisfied with the quantity of power supply to their households. These are some of the key findings from the Governance Snap Poll conducted in week of May 26th 2014.

These results represent the fifth in the 2014 monthly series of governance polls conducted by NOIPolls to gauge the opinions and perceptions of Nigerians regarding the approval rating of the President, the performance of the President on key elements of his transformation agenda, and the state of power supply in the country.

Respondents to the poll were asked three specific questions. The first question sought to assess the opinion of Nigerians on the performance of President Goodluck Jonathan over the past 1 month. Respondents were asked: Do you approve or disapprove of the job performance of President Jonathan in the past 1 month? The results depicts that the majority (58%: 46%+12%) of Nigerians approve of the president’s performance; where 46% approve and 12% strongly approve of the President’s performance. A total of 26% (21%+5%) of respondents indicated disapproval of the president’s performance while 16% remain neutral as they neither approve nor disapprove.

Examining the President’s performance by geo-political zones reveals that the South-East zone (90%: 26%+64%) has the highest proportion of respondents who approve of the President’s job performance. The North-West zone accounts for the largest ratio of respondents that were neutral and disapprove of the president’s job performance with 27% and 38% respectively.

It is pertinent to note that there was a considerable 21-points; 16-point and 12-point increase in the proportion of Nigerians from the South-East, South-South and South-West zones respectively who approve of the President’s performance in May from April. Similarly, there was a substantial 14-point decrease in the proportion of Nigerians from the North-West zone who disapprove of the president’s performance from April (52%) to May (38%).
 

2015 ELECTIONS: WHAT NIGERIAN YOUTHS WANT

One of the cardinal points of democracy is electioneering. Election is believed to be an avenue where citizens particularly those of voting age participate in governance by voting individuals who will govern them over a period of time.

Ahead of the February 2015 general elections in Nigeria, concerns and considerations have been high on what should form the agenda for the 2015 elections which political observers say will be the defining moment in Nigeria’s democracy and the country’s continued existence.

Statistically, the Nigerian population is largely youth based. The youth population accounts for over 75 percent of the country’s total population - an undeniable demographic force in determining the present and indeed the future of the country.

So, what do the teeming Nigerian youths want?

According to a recent survey conducted by the International Press Centre, Nigeria, published via the Nigerian Democratic Report, the five topmost demands of Nigerian youths are Power Supply, Education
, Youth Employment and Job Creation, Security of lives
 and HealthCare.

The survey, which was conducted through an opinion poll titled “Setting public agenda for the media ahead 2015 elections”, had about 2012 respondents spread across 30 states of the federation.

“The highest response was from the students population which had 983 (48.9%) followed by 550 respondents (27.3%) who were professionals (journalists, engineers, doctors, accountants, etc), the civil servant population was 181 (9%), the self employed being 114 (5.7%), private employee 95 (4.7%), and artisans, 61 (3%)and 28 unemployed people (1.8%)”.

Taking a cue from this research outcome, it is apparent that the demands of the Nigerian youth are not out of the blues for any development minded government to achieve. Hitherto, it is unarguable that the current governance system, which has existed for almost two decades, has not done as much as expected in providing these supposed basic amenities of social wellbeing for its citizenry particularly the ever-bulging youth population.

As we approach the 2015 polls, it is imperative for public office seekers to be cognizant of the position, power and prospects of the over 100million youth population whose actions and inactions will in the long run determine the fate and feat of Africa’s most populated country, Nigeria.

At the centre of this realisation is the media. Media practitioners across both traditional and new platforms must create the space for productive interactions and engagement that will foster positive development for the country before, during and after the 2015 elections.

For the youth population, there is no better time than now to forge the agenda for incoming elected public officials. Only with the power of our votes, we can unite to birth the expected change in our socio-economic, political and leadership experience cutting across Power Supply, Education
, Youth Employment and Job Creation, Security of lives
 and HealthCare.

Elegbede Tayo JET, is a Freelance Journalist, Mediapreneur cum Communicator.

@tayojet1

#BringBackOurGirls: Patience Jonathan Wept

Nigeria's First Lady, Patience Jonathan gets emotional while discussing the unfortunate incidence of the 234 abducted school girls in Chibok, Borno State, Nigeria.

She couldn't hold it but burst into tears.

Is this another step in getting the girls back?

THE NEW PHASE...

Quite an age, right?

Yes, It’s been some days, weeks and perhaps months I’ve been off this space.

Well, I’ve been  inundated with quite a handful of task. Top on the list is the burden of nation building as a Young Nigerian. That comes along democratic and governance line, business and entrepreneurship, as well as inspiration, knowledge and education.

I will let you into all of these, as we get on with this new and exciting phase of our blogging and online sharing experience…

Tell me, did I miss while I was away? What have you been up to?

Welcome back, FRIENDS!