In his inaugural address one year ago, President Bola Tinubu championed unity and promised to remodel the economy to bring about growth and development through job creation, food security and ending extreme poverty.

As Tinubu begins his second year as president, most Nigerians score him very low on the economy, according to results from a new national Africa Polling Institute (API) poll.

At least 84 percent of respondents expressed sadness with the current state of affairs in the country under Tinubu while 81 per cent said that the president is driving the country in the wrong direction.

One such Nigerian dissatisfied with Tinubu’s performance is Abubakar Ibrahim, a development worker in the Nigerian capital and former supporter of the president.

Ibrahim told PREMIUM TIMES that he was no longer happy to have voted for Tinubu and remains sceptical of how much he can achieve. Ibrahim, 31, sees Tinubu’s first year as one of “ups and downs.”

“The biggest problem that continues to face us is inflation and in turn the cost of living crisis. Unfortunately, these are problems induced by the president’s policies,” Ibrahim said.

The latest API national survey brings to light a stark reality, said Bell Ihua, the API’s executive director. “Hunger, poverty, and dissatisfaction are the harsh realities of Tinubu’s one year in office.”

In terms of the biggest challenges facing the country under Tinubu’s stewardship, 36 per cent of respondents said hunger, 28 per cent identified with inability to meet basic needs and 13 per cent said unemployment. This is followed by heightened insecurity (9 per cent) and poor electricity supply (5 per cent).

Similarly, about 74 per cent of respondents affirmed that their economic situation has deteriorated over the last year, compared to 20 per cent who said their economic situation had remained the same and a meagre 5 per cent who said it had improved.

“The impact of the cost of living crisis we are in is weighing heavily on me,” Muhammad Sani, a resident of Kano State, told PREMIUM TIMES. “The prices of goods have more than doubled under this administration. There are basic things we can’t afford now as a family and that has impacted our living standard negatively.”

In terms of the job performance of Tinubu, 78 per cent of respondents said he has performed abysmally, with 49 per cent rating him “Very Poor” and 29 per cent “Poor.”

Methodology

The national survey was administered between the 1st and 18th of May to elicit citizens’ opinions and assessments of Tinubu’s first year in office.

The researchers said they applied a stratified random sampling method, ensuring representation from all nationwide demographic groups. A total of 3,996 randomly selected Nigerians aged 18 years and above were interviewed in the 36 states and Abuja, representing the six geopolitical zones in the country.

The researchers said they visited three local government areas (LGAs) in each of the 36 states, covering the 108 senatorial districts in the country, as well as the urban, semi-urban, and rural residents. In the FCT, the API visited the six area councils to meet respondents.

“With a sample of this size, we can say with 95 per cent confidence that the results are statistically precise – within a range of plus or minus 3 per cent,” Ihua said, adding, “For scholars, researchers, practitioners, and policymakers who wish to undertake further statistical analysis of our data, the raw data for this national survey can be purchased on our website.”

PT