Lagos State residents have passed a vote of no confidence in the state government in the area of governance, a survey carried out by the Human and Environmental Development Agenda has shown.
According to the survey, only five per cent of the respondents expressed satisfaction with the Lagos State government’s overall performance, while the remaining 95 per cent said the government had performed below expectations.
Also, more than half (61 per cent of the respondents) said they had no understanding of the processes involving the drafting and implementation of Lagos State’s budget.
The survey was presented to the public at a seminar themed “Leadership Approval Rating: A survey of Citizen Perception on Governance in Nigeria” released in June 2022.
Emani, a platform for rapid surveys of hard-to-reach communities independently administered the survey.
The Leadership Approval Rating is an initiative of HEDA Resource Centre, which shines a spotlight on different areas, sectors and tiers of government with a view to gaining insight into how people perceive the government and its activities as well as measuring people’s expectations of government with a view to serving as a feedback mechanism to government and other stakeholders.
The survey was conducted in Lagos between January 19 to 21, 2022. It collated the opinions of 457 respondents. The respondents were spread across both genders, comprising 236 men and 218 women.
Age-wise, 195 respondents were under 25 years of age, 163 respondents were between ages 25 and 34, while 101 respondents were above 35 years of age. Out of the respondents, 53 self-identified as having a disability and overall, an average of 20 responses were received across each Local Government Area of Lagos State.
According to the survey, about 40 per cent of respondents believe that Lagos State Government needs to improve its performance in critical sectors. It also indicated that only 15 per cent of young people agree with the approach of the Lagos State Government towards effective education. About 43 per cent of them said the approach needs improvement.
Furthermore, the survey noted that 11 per cent of female respondents consider the Lagos State Government effective in creating economic opportunities. About half of them (45 per cent) said the situation needs improvement.
The participants highlighted priority areas where Lagosians expect improvements, especially in the areas of employment, road network, education, health and security.
A report based on the feedback of the respondents recommended that the State Government ensures a participatory budgetary process in managing and governing the state. The State Assembly was also enjoined to publish copies of the budget for the purpose of public appraisal.
