Former Anambra State governor, Mr Peter Obi and incumbent Vice President Yemi Osinbajo are Nigerians’ two most preferred presidential candidates for the 2023 general elections, report of a survey has revealed.
Obi is an aspirant on the platform of the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), while Osinbajo is seeking the presidential ticket of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in next year’s poll.
The survey was conducted by Nextier, “a multi-competency advisory firm with core competencies in strategy, finance, policy research, analysis, design and implementation; and DataTier, “a data analytics firm that leverages deep strategic communications expertise to provide insights to shape public policy and interventions.”
The team conducted the survey for a period of two weeks (Wednesday February 23 to Wednesday, March 9, 2022).
Their 25-page survey report is entitled, “Nigeria’s 2023 Presidential Election: Most Preferred Candidates and Issues Shaping Voter Decisions. Poll Results April 2022.”
According to the report of the survey by the two firms, the most preferred of the 15 presidential aspirants ranked are Peter Obi, who got 46.04 per cent, VP Osinbajo (27.84%), Asiwaju Bola Tinubu (7.49%) and Atiku Abubakar (2.78%).
The survey report also stated that Tinubu and the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami were identified by Nigerians as their least preferred presidential candidates.
The 15 presidential aspirants ranked in the survey report are: Obi, Osinbajo, Tinubu, Atiku Abubakar, Musa Kwankaso (2.36%), Nyesom Wike (2.36%) Godwin Emefiele (2.14%), Rotimi Amaechi (2.14%), Kayode Fayemi (1.93%), Bukola Saraki (1.50%), Anyim Pius Anyim (1.07%), Ogbonnaya Onu (0.86%), Aminu Tambuwal (0.64%), Goodluck Jonathan (0.64%) and Abubakar Malami (0.21%).
But while half of the respondents (46.06%) on the Most Preferred Presidential Candidates, according to the report, selected Obi as their preferred candidate for President, Osinbajo was second with 27.84 per cent and Tinubu third (7.49%). None of the other candidates, including former president Goodluck Jonathan; ex-VP Atiku Abubakar; Wike, CBN Governor Emefiele, Amaechi and others, however, secured more than seven per cent of the votes.
For the Most Preferred Vice Presidential Candidate, Aminu Tambuwal (28.05%), Musa Kwankaso (19.27%) came tops while none of the other candidates secured more than seven per cent of the votes.
The report further indicated that almost eight out of 10 respondents (76%) claimed that above all other considerations, they would rather prefer to have as the next president a candidate who can fix Nigeria regardless of tribe and religion.
The report, which also indicated preference of Nigerians by geo-political zones, in its review of all the respondents from Southern Nigeria (South-East, South-West, South-South), shows Obi as their “consistent favourite” for both the presidential and vice-presidential slots.
In the South-East, eight out of the 10 respondents prefer Obi as president while Osinbajo came in second at 7.96 per cent and Wike third with 2.49 per cent, according to the report. Although Anyim and Onu scored lower on the general polls, they emerged in the top five slots for president in the South-East regional view.
Also, almost four out of 10 respondents from the South-East (36.32%) selected Tambuwal as their top pick for the vice presidency. Kwankaso and Saraki, however, came in second and third with 15.95% and 10.95%, respectively.
In the South-West, almost six out of 10 respondents (55.04%) prefer Osinbajo for president; that is three times the preference for Tinubu (17.05%). Here, Obi received 13.18% of the votes, which is higher than Osinbajo’s votes in the South-East. Obi also topped the preference list for vice president with 26.36%, while Kwankaso was third with 17.83%.
The report further indicated that in the South-West Osinbajo was the most preferred presidential candidate with 55.04% votes, while Tinubu came second with 17.05%. Peter Obi got 13.18% with Fayemi and Atiku trailing him with 5.43% and 3.10%, respectively.
In the same South-West, Obi came first on the respondents’ list of top five most preferred vice Presidential Candidates with 26.36% and followed by Tambuwal (19.38%), Kwankaso (17.83%), Emefiele (6.98%), and Amaechi (5.43%).
Respondents from the South-South, according to the survey report, prefer Obi (32.79%) and Osinbajo (27.87%) as their top two candidates for president. But Amaechi, a former governor and current Minister of Transportation from the region, was the third most preferred presidential candidate, with a third of the preference for Obi. Wike, who is an incumbent governor in the zone, didn’t make it to the top five presidential list.
On the other hand, Tambuwal was a strong preference for the vice president in the South-South with 32.79% of the responses. Obi was second with 22.95% and Kwankaso third with 16.39%. Wike trailed them far behind in the fourth position with 8.2% of the responses in the zone.
The survey report’s review of all the respondents from the North (North-East, North-West, and North-Central) shows that Osinbajo is the preferred presidential candidate in the region having secured 34.31% of the responses. Obi is, however, second with 19.74%.
It added that “Osinbajo is preferred almost three times to Kwankwaso and Tinubu, each of whom tied at 13.16 %.” Atiku, who is fifth on the list, the report said, received only 6.58%. Kwankaso, however, polled better as the preferred vice presidential candidate with 32.89%, according to the report. Tambuwal came second (17.11%), while Obi was third (14.47%).
In the North North-East, despite the low response rate, of the 15 candidates on the list, Kwankwaso polled strongly as the preferred candidate for President (21.43%) and the vice president’s position (35.71%). But while Osinbajo tied with Kwankaso for president, he didn’t make it to the top five list for vice president.
In the North-West, almost four out of 10 respondents (34.62%) prefer Osinbajo for president, which is twice the preference for Kwankaso and Tinubu, who are tied in second place (19.23%).
Kwankaso, however, topped the preference list for vice president in the zone with 46.15% of the responses with Wike trailing him in the second position with 15.38%, while Obi came third with 11.54%.
In the North-Central, the report said almost four out of 10 respondents (38.89%) prefer Osinbajo for president. Obi came in second with 30.56% of the responses. No other aspirants, including Tinubu (8.35%), Kwankwaso and Saraki secured up to 10 per cent of the respondents’ votes. Kwankwaso, however, topped the preference list for the vice president with 22.22 per cent of the responses, while Obi and Tambuwal are tied for second place with 19.44 per cent. Osinbajo came distant fourth with 11.11 per cent.
The survey report further stated that the respondents ranked the 15 aspirants in their order of the most preferred and the least preferred presidential candidates.