Opinion Poll Reveals APC, PDP Chances at 2019 Election in.…
An avalanche of blames and praises are ongoing between the ruling Political Party of Buhari’s led APC (All Progressive Congress) and opposition parties fronted by Atiku led PDP (Peoples Democratic Party) with each political party claiming to be better than the other. An opinion poll was conducted by us; the PublicTimes, online Nigerian Newspaper, to measure factually, the prevailing political attitude of the citizens within Ibadan, the former political and economic capital of Western Nigeria which consisted of the present Delta, Edo, Ondo, Ekiti, Osun, Oyo, Ogun and substantial part of Lagos State.
The poll which was conducted in September 2018, covered 110 respondents of both gender, ages between 18 and 67years with a modal age of 31years and a very few respondents stating; ‘adult’ in lieu of specific age. The respondents cut across linguistic and religious divides.
The poll intended to measure Ibadan residents’ attitudes to the Political clime via questioners such as; 1. How do you welcome current spate of decamping from one political party to another? 2. How has the APC at Federal level fulfilled her election promises? 3. How did people rate APC in 2015? 4. How did People rate PDP in 2015? 5. How are people rating APC in 2018? And 6, How are people rating PDP in 2018?
Results showed 40 respondents or 36% welcome the spate of decamping from one political party to the other but 55% oppose decamping by politicians from one party to another, 10 respondents or 9% are indifferent. This suggests that majority of respondents want politicians to stay put in their respective parties instead of decamping here or there.
When asked the question on; How has the APC at Federal Level fulfilled her election promises? Results showed that 16 respondents or 14.5% are satisfied with the level of fulfillment of APC promises but 71% are dissatisfied while 16 others or 14.5% were indifferent to fulfillment or non fulfillment of APC promises.
Concerning past and present rates of major political parties of APC and PDP; it was found that 76% or 84 respondents rated APC political party High for the year 2015 while 18% or 20 respondents rated it low for 2015. But for 2018, the respondents rated APC low with 63.6% while 23.6% thought otherwise and rated it high and 14.5% others who are indifferent to its rating. This means that APC has lost ratings significantly over time.
Eight Respondents or 7.3% said they rated PDP high in 2015, while 66% rated it low for 2015. But for 2018, 58 respondents or 53% rated PDP high while 18% rated it low and 32 others or 29% said they were indifferent to its rating. This suggests that between 2015 and 2018, PDP has gained some approval from the people.
Generally, opinion poll if diligently answered by respondents helps to measure the aggregate views of citizens as opposed to statements made by vocal individuals during discussions on Radio and Televisions. Also, the larger the number of respondents that are covered by an opinion poll the truer the results. It also helps to hint political parties of their standing among the people and points to areas where political parties need to explore in order to conduct further hard work at winning potential voters.
Fortunately, peoples’ opinion could easily be swayed in a polity that is not based on any political ideology; such as we have in Nigeria. Also, there are still some One Hundred days ahead for all political parties in Nigeria to work hard at winning voters consents not only in Ibadan but across Nigeria.