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According to a new survey conducted by NOIPolls Limited, the top three areas most Nigerians want the government to address in 2020 are the economy, job creation and electricity supply. This report is among the key findings in the NOIPolls Annual New Year Poll, which gauges the expectations of Nigerians for the year.

In a statement released on Tuesday, NOIPolls said it asked 1,000 Nigerians randomly selected across the six geo-political regions the question: "What are the three top areas you expect the government to focus its attention on in 2020?

Key highlights from the poll, conducted last month, show that 70 per cent of Nigerians said the economy was a top priority, followed by jobs (69 per cent) and electricity supply (62 per cent). Other areas mentioned include education (55 per cent), infrastructure (38 per cent), healthcare (29 per cent), agriculture (23 per cent) and security (7 per cent).

The Abuja-based poling service said most of the respondents lamented the increasing cost of goods and services in the country, especially food items. According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), Nigeria's inflation rate rose to 11.85 per cent in November 2019.

In its latest Nigeria Economic Update, released in December, the World Bank reported that job creation in the country is weak and per capita incomes are falling. Nigeria's Gross Domestic (GDP) growth rate for 2019 is estimated at 2 per cent. Following the 2016 recession when the GDP grew at -1.58 per cent, the country's GDP has been growing below the population growth rate of 2.6 per cent in the last two years. The World Bank said Nigeria needs reforms to accelerate economic growth, create new job opportunities and reduce poverty.  

NOIPolls said adequate electricity would foster the development of cottage industries and empower small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which are the engines of growth and job creation.