Buhari's approval rating drops to just above 30% as new poll reveals public impatience

PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari's approval rating has fallen to 32.8% from 63.4% in January according to a monthly poll published by the Governance Advancement Initiative for Nigeria (Gain) which tracks the performance of governments at all levels.

 

Published at the end of February, the poll said that for the first time since December last year, more Nigerians scored President Buhari low on jobs, the economy and power supply. Designed to provide feedback from the public to their elected officials, the Gain poll revealed that for the first time, President Buhari was now being blamed for Nigeria's plethora of socio-economic woes.

 

In polls, Gain found that a majority of respondents did not blame President Buhari for Nigeria’s current economic troubles, attributing them to former President Goodluck Jonathan instead. However, the trend shifted significantly in February as the nation’s economic crisis bit harder, in what the poll coordinators said suggested the president’s honey moon might have ended.

 

Malcolm Fabiyi, one of the poll’s coordinators, said: “The survey was administered using electronic media between February 22 and 29, 2016. A total of 757 complete responses were received and the survey results have a 4% margin of error at a 95% confidence level.”

 

February's poll showed that more Nigerians held the president responsible for the struggling economy for the first time, with President Buhari scoring low on jobs, the economy, power and rule of law. A huge 79% of respondents rated the government’s handling of recurring clashes between herdsmen and farmers poor too.

 

In addition, the poll also found that the Nigerian Senate maintained the lowest approval rating of all governmental institutions, while the army was the highest rated national institution. Respondents also rated the minister of state for petroleum, Dr Ibe Kachikwu, as Nigeria’s best minister so far.