Despite his health challenges, President Muhammadu Buhari has been scored 57 per cent for his performance since assuming office in 2015.
The administration has also broken five promises and achieved seven key ones.
But the “number of achieved and ongoing election pledges has increased from one to seven, and 45 to 114 respectively in year one and year two” respectively.
The approval rating for the government’s anti-corruption war however stood “fairly high at 52 per cent.
The economic agenda of the Buhari administration was faulted due to its “inability to translate several monetary and fiscal policies to economic growth and development.”
The administration was cautioned against the use of dialogue and negotiation in dealing with Boko Haram insurgents.
The government’s refusal to obey several court orders demanding the release of a former National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd), Sheikh Ibraheem El-Zakzaky and his wife Zeenat, was also described as a “serious blight on the administration’s commitment to the rule of law.”
On the agitations for a state of Biafra, the government has been urged to go beyond dialogue and negotiation by redressing the developmental issues raised by the Igbos.
These highlights are contained in a report, titled Buharimeter Mid-Term Report, compiled by the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD).
The compilation of the report was sponsored by the United Kingdom Department for International Development (DFID) and Open Society Initiative for Western Africa (OSIWA).
The report, which was signed by the Director of CDD, Idayat Hassan, was based on the 222 pledges made by the President.
According to the report, the 222 election pledges were carefully sourced from (1) APC Manifesto: An Honest Contract with Nigeria;( 2) My Covenant with Nigeria released by the Campaign Team of the APC presidential candidate, Muhammadu Buhari; and (3) Un-refuted media reports including national newspaper reports and electronic media reports (television and radio) on election promises made by the President during campaign tours across the country.
The report said: “The Buharimeter Perception Survey reveals that 57 per cent of surveyed Nigerians approve of the job performance of President Buhari, while 40 per cent do not approve of his job performance.
“Significantly, the 57 per cent job approval has a regional dimension, with those from the northern region viewing Buhari more favourably.
“ While respondents from the North West (85 per cent) and North -East (66 per cent) constitute the majority of those who approve of his performance, respondents from the South-East (72 per cent) and South-South (60 per cent) make up those who do not approve of his performance.
“The report indicates that government emphasis in the last two years has been on security. Corruption, agriculture, oil and gas, social safety net and industrialization have seen progress, but there have been no corresponding interventions in sectors including education, health, sports and culture, women and youth empowerment. As such, these sectors have performed poorly.”
The report gave insights into five promises broken by the Buhari administration and the seven broad ones achieved.
It blamed Buhari for not keeping to his promise to end the rush to travel abroad for medical treatment.
It said: “The two years’ assessment report reveals that five of the campaign promises have not and cannot be achieved by the incumbent administration. These are “broken promises”!
“The promises include: the commitment to end medical tourism, which has become a routine feat of President Muhammad Buhari, who is presently being treated in London for an undisclosed ailment; the creation of three million jobs annually; provision of steady power supply to Nigerians between 12 and 18 months of the administration coming into power; the building of one million new houses a year over the next decades; and immediate increase of the national budget to the health sector from 5.5 per cent to 10 per cent.
“The report shows that the Buhari administration also achieved seven of its campaign promises during its first two years. These promises include: the public declaration of assets and liabilities (though the details are yet to be publicly released); presentation of National Anti-Corruption Strategy; establishment of a good working relationship with state governments in the North East, neighbouring countries and the international community in the fight against Boko Haram; introduction of time-limited partial amnesty to rank and file Boko Haram members; review of health policy; introduction of social insurance scheme; and review of the structure of Joint Venture Companies and ensuring transparent tendering process, not managed by federal ministers.
“A comparative analysis of the performance of PMB in his first two years shows significant progress in terms of promises rated as ‘achieved’ and ‘ongoing’. In the first year Buharimeter report released in July 2016, it was reported that overall performance was low, with the government having achieved only one out of 222 campaign promises, while progress was made towards fulfilling 45 of the promises.
“However, performance has reasonably improved within the year under review. The total number of achieved and ongoing election pledges has increased from one to seven, and 45 to 114 respectively in year one and year two. The report also reveals that promises rated as ‘Not rated’ decreased from 179 to 96.”
On the state of the nation’s economy, the report rated the Buhari administration low because of its inability to translate several monetary and fiscal policies to economic growth and development in the last two years.
