The Akwa Ibom Governorship Candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Obong Akan Udofia has been projected to win the March 11 poll in the state.

This is according to a recent poll conducted by ZexPoll Data Group- a leading polling Coalition in Africa.

In a 32 pages report released by its country Director Dr. Mike Egwuli, the APC candidate is projected to win by a slim margin.

The group projects a very tight governorship race among the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, the APC and the Young Progressives Party YPP.

It was gathered that a total of 25,776 Akwa Ibom citizens were surveyed between January 21 to February 25. According to the report, 36% of respondents disclosed that they will vote for APC candidate, Udofia while 31% indicated they will vote for the YPP Candidate, Senator Bassey Albert and 23% chose the PDP Candidate, Umo Eno.

The NNPP Candidate, Senator John Akpanudoedehe and his LP Counterpart, Uduak Udoh scored below 2% respectively while 8% of respondents remain Undecided.

The group said the polling was based on a random sampling of Akwa Ibom population of different ages, grades and gender across 31 Local Government Areas using a combination of direct opinion polls and online polling.

Speaking on the methodology deployed for the Polling, Egwuli said they used a hybrid data collection approach which involved telephone call interviews and online polling to achieve a more representative sample with accurate results.

“It was random sample of registered voters in the State Capital Uyo and across several villages in 3 Senatorial Districts in the State namely Eket, Uyo and Ikot Ekpene zones,” he stated

He said Udofia rates higher than other candidates from YPP and PDP especially among the youth demographic within the age range of 18- 35 years while Eno was the preferred choice for the older population between 50-65 years.

Other data from the poll also suggests that the perception of the APC Candidate as being fresh and unsullied from politics also increased his selection.

More than 35% of those polled indicated that the unemployment situation in the state is the priority reason for their choice while 22% said the priority is to tackle poverty. Increased access to healthcare services and improved education are the other reasons for the respondents’ choices