Ahead of the Nov. 11 Bayelsa governorship election, an opinion poll conducted by Precious Hands and Brains Consult, has indicated that the incumbent governor, Douye Diri will win the election across the eight Local areas of the state.
Mr Abraham Ogbodo, the Coordinator of the independent research group and former Editor of the Guardian Newspaper made copy of the outcome of the poll available to newsmen on Thursday in Ughelli, Delta State.
According to the survey conducted in September 2023, using a stratified random sampling method in all the local government areas of the state, “the harmony of the peoples’ experiences painted a vivid portrait of life in Bayelsa under the leadership of the incumbent governor”.
The Local Government Areas were: Ekeremor, Kolokuma/Opokuma, Brass, Nembe, Ogbia, Sagbama, Southern Ijaw and Yenagoa.
The survey noted that good governance encompassed the eight pillars of grassroots development which included: Healthcare, Infrastructural Development, Education, Job Creation, Youth Empowerment, Women Empowerment, Agriculture and Security.
The poll observed that Diri’s scorecard among others covered major roads construction, reconstruction of flood impacted roads, internal roads construction and reconstruction especially in the Yenagoa, interventions in education, health, agriculture, security, sports. workers’ welfare/equity, human capacity development initiatives.
According to the survey, in Nembe LGA, data was gathered from 125 individuals, and an overwhelming 72 per cent of the respondents mostly women cited gov. Diri’s simplicity as their primary attraction.
The survey added that 80 per cent of the respondents believed that the governor had faithfully fulfilled his campaign promises to the people of Nembe.
Similarly, in Southern Ijaw LGA, no fewer than 135 persons responded to questions about the governance of gov. Diri and the data overwhelmingly supported the notion that the governor had diligently fulfilled his commitment to the people of Southern Ijaw.
In Kolokoma LGA, larger number of the respondents admired the incumbent governor for his simplicity and the desire for grounded leadership. There were, however, concerns about accessibility, accommodation and openness indicating areas the governor needed to improve.
Also, in Sagbama LGA, an overwhelming 75 per cent of respondents celebrated the simplicity of the governor as the most appealing and the exemplary leadership quality. Similarly, 65 per cent of the respondents expressed satisfaction that the governor had met their expectations
In Ogbia LGA, the administration of gov. Diri earned favourable ratings particularly in the healthcare sector with an impressive 80 per cent of the respondents expressing satisfaction.
The survey also indicated that 80 per cent of the respondents possessed their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) which proved their readiness to participate in the democratic process.
In Yenagoa LGA, an overwhelming 87.5 per cent of the respondents believed that gov. Diri had fulfilled his campaign promises. The incumbent governor also recorded overwhelming supports from the other LGAs.
According to the copy, in totality, each respondents in the entire sampling scored Diri, 77.8 per cent for infrastructural development; 74.7 per cent for Provision of Healthcare; 72.9 per cent for Education; 76.6 for Youth Empowerment; 58.1 per cent for Women Empowerment; 72.1 per cent for Security and Agriculture 47.1 per cent.
The poll, however, noted that the respondents indicated Job creation (16.6 per cent) and the provisions of Healthcare Centres (15.2 per cent) as areas that required greater attention from the governor.
Explaining the procedures, the copy indicated that the integrated data collated from the eight LGAs had a sample size of 990 respondents with the composition of the respondents as 463 males and 527 female
“In terms of age, the majority falls within the 30-39 years range which is unarguably the most active in political activities. Their marital status is: Married 50.1 per cent Single 36.2 per cent and Divorced 13.7 per cent.
“Importantly, 82.3 per cent have PVCs. On how they get their information on the Prosperity Administration of the governor, 56.2 per cent said they rely on the Radio.
“Another 44.4 per cent maintained Gov. Diri could improve communication with the people of Bayelsa through the same medium.
“On what attracted the people most to the governor, 58.3 per cent stated his “Simplicity”, 20.3 per cent, his accommodating nature, 12.4 per cent, his accessibility while Nine per cent said, his openness.
“When asked if Diri actually fulfilled his campaign promises, 70 per cent voted yes.
“Although there is a 30 per cent margin of areas where the governor is yet to fulfill his promises but he can reduce this deficit to single unit by doing the needful,” the poll revealed.
The survey noted that from the outset, Diri’s Administration had taken time to identify the distinct barriers to good governance before advancing workable solution to each.
“Overall, the governor has managed to situate the Bayelsa challenges within the context of unfairness in the distribution of official patronage, misused resources and squandered opportunities.
“Diri’s application of unusual solutions to unique problems may explain why he is ahead in Bayelsa 2023. In all, his second tenure promises to be a progression of the first,” the survey indicated.
Members of the project team included: Dr Peter Omoko, Dr Mike Moemeka, Goodnews Gayaovwi and Moses Ukochovwera (analytics), Shedrack Onitsha and Ajibola Amzart (copy/production) and Julius Osahon, Ebiowei Lawal, Indiamaowei Douglas and Hope Iyire (field).
