2011: Jonathan, most acceptable aspirant -US Gallup Poll •Ribadu, Buhari trail president in popularity •Civil societies task Ciroma on consensus candidate
Written by Taiwo Adisa and Soji-Eze Fagbemi, Abuja Friday, 05 November 2010
The poll, conducted between October 7 and 11, rated aspirants, including General Muhammadu Buhari, General Ibrahim Babangida, former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, Kwara State governor, Dr Bukola Saraki and Mallam Nuhu Ribadu.
It reported that nearly all respondents (99 per cent) of the respondents said they were aware of President Jonathan’s ambition to govern Nigeria from 2011, while 87 per cent of the respondents said he should run for the office. Only 12 per cent of those polled responded that the president should not stand for election in 2011, while one per cent was indifferent.
President Jonathan’s closest rivals in the race, according to the polls, are former head of state, General Muhammadu Buhari and the former chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu.
NOI/Gallup said in a statement announcing the polls: “Almost all (99 per cent) of the people polled said they were aware of President Jonathan’s intention to contest in the upcoming presidential election. Eighty-seven per cent of respondents said they feel he should run for office. This figure is slightly higher than before the president declared his intentions to contest, where 81 per cent felt he should run.”
While 97 per cent of the respondents are aware of Buhari’s intention to contest the 2011 election, only 41 per cent of the figure feel that he should run for office in 2011. Another 58 per cent say he should not run and three per cent of the population of the polls said they are undecided.
For Ribadu, 86 per cent of the respondents say they are aware of his ambition to contest the 2011 presidency but only 55 per cent think he should contest the election. Forty-one per cent think he should not run for the office.
Ninety per cent of those polled said they are aware of former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar’s ambition to contest the 2011 poll, but only 27 per cent think he should run for the election. While 87 per cent of those who believe he should run say that it is his right to contest, 21 per cent of those polled say they don’t want him to contest because of their view that he is corrupt.
The ambition of former military ruler, General Ibrahim Babangida, to rule is also well-known among Nigerians. Ninety-seven per cent of those polled said they were aware of his ambition but only 27 per cent feel he should run for office, while 69 per cent think he should not run.
The poll agency stated in a release: “While nearly all of those quizzed (97 per cent) are aware that Ibrahim Babangida has declared his intention to run for the 2011 presidential election, only 27 per cent think he should run for office.”
Of the 69 per cent of those who said IBB should not run for president, 19 per cent gave as their reason, IBB’s poor reputation, 17 per cent said he is corrupt and another 17 per cent want a new generation of leaders.
For Governor Bukola Saraki, 88 per cent of the respondents said they are aware of his plan to contest the election, while only 35 per cent want him to contest the election. Sixty-two per cent of the respondents said Saraki should not contest the election, while three per cent are non-committal.
The report stated: “While 88 per cent of the people polled were aware of Governor Saraki’s intention to run for office, only slightly over one-third (35 per cent) of respondents felt he should run. Sixty-two per cent said he should not run while three per cent did not have anything to say on the issue.”
When asked whether Governor Saraki should run for the 2011 election, 84 per cent of those who said he should run for the office, said he had a right as a Nigerian to vie for the office. Six per cent said he is a good man, while 35 per cent said he was experienced and a man of integrity.
Twenty-three per cent of the 87 per cent of the respondents who want Jonathan to run cited their reasons as his right as a Nigerian; 18 per cent cited his experience/competence and 16 per cent said he was innovative and a man of integrity, while 10 and 12 per cent said he was a good man and he represented a new generation of leaders respectively.
But 70 per cent of those who said Buhari should run said he is qualified as a Nigerian, while eight per cent said he had the experience. Another five per cent said he was a man of integrity while another eight per cent said he was a good man.
A complementary poll conducted on the state of security in Nigeria, however, indicated that Nigerians were apprehensive about the state of security in the country.
The survey, also conducted, by NOI/Gallup Poll said there was pervasive fear and general scepticism about the capacity of the law enforcement agencies to deal with the security situation in the country.
A release by the NOI Poll stated that Nigerians were asked in a poll representative sample of phone owning Nigerians the simple question how safe do you feel?
Reports from the field indicated that 64 per cent of the respondents said they felt unsafe or very unsafe as a result of the October 1 bomb blasts in Abuja. Sixteen per cent said they neither felt safe nor unsafe while only 20 per cent said they felt safe and very safe.
When the respondents were asked whether they had confidence in the Nigerian security services, 75 per cent said they lacked confidence in the security services while 24 per cent expressed confidence in the security services.
“This poll is part of the ongoing snap poll exercise conducted by NOI Polls to rapidly assess public sentiments following various social, political or economic events,” the research agency said.
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