The PREMIUM TIMES poll was conducted on the newspaper’s accounts on two social media platforms – Facebook and X (Twitter) – to survey readers’ stances on the planned protest.
According to the poll, most Nigerians support the #EndBadGovernance protest scheduled to kick off nationwide today, Thursday. August 1 2024.
Mostly, young Nigerians are organising the protest to express their displeasure about the rising cost of living, which is believed to be a fallout of the government’s economic policies.
The PREMIUM TIMES poll shows that more Nigerians support the protest than are against it.
The poll ran for three days between 26 and 28 July on X (formerly Twitter) and six days between 26 July and 31 July on Facebook.
All the respondents were asked on both social media platforms: “Are you in support of the nationwide protest?”
They were given two options: A – Yes and B – No.
The Poll results on X
Most users who responded on X (formerly Twitter) backed the protest.
Of the total 4,173 respondents, 3,255 users — representing 78 per cent — voted “yes” to support the protest. Only 22 per cent users that responded to the poll, that is 918 respondents, voted against it.
The Poll results on Facebook
On Facebook, 1,006 responded to the poll as of Wednesday.
Of the total respondents, 81 per cent – 816 of them – voted in support of the protest. While on the other hand, 19 per cent, or 190 respondents, voted against it.
The Protest
The planned protest is driven by citizens’ displeasure with the government’s handling of the fallout of its economic policies, which have caused an astronomical rise in the cost of living in the country.
The government has spoken against it and cast the organisers as people driven by political interests.
Some traditional rulers, religious organisations and professional groups have urged the protesters to shelve the protet.
On Wednesday, on the eve of the protest, the Nigerian government’s reaction to the protest took on a tone of appeal, with George Akume, the Secretary to the Government of Federation (SGF), urging the organisers to shelve the protest to give time to address their concerns.
The protesters’ demands have been as varied as the diversity of the protest organisers. Many issues beyond the core rallying point have been added to the wish lists of the protesters.
Their demands range from economic hardship, reforms, and the enthronement of a credible electoral system to accountability and justice in the country.
PREMIUM TIMES collated some of these demands in posts and flyers shared by users on various social media platforms.
