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The Challenges of Public Administration, Good Governance and Service Delivery in the 21st Century

2015; IGI Global; Volume: 2; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês

10.4018/ijcesc.2015040104

2328-5508

Essien D. Essien,

Economic Growth and Development

Contemporary studies on public administration in Nigeria have revealed two dramatic findings. First, despite the moderate achievements in democratic governance and being rich in natural and human resources, there remain many politico-administrative challenges to be addressed in Nigeria. Second, ailing public administration has resulted in disturbing socio-economic indicators which are among the worst in the world. This paper examines the challenges of public administration for effective service delivery and good governance in Nigeria. The paper employs descriptive method of research and content analysis which is anchored on ‘efficiency theory' to examine the subject matter. Findings reveal that, notwithstanding the dramatic administrative reforms, citizen's confidence in government service is near an historic low because of poor service delivery and exclusionary policies. The paper submits that the label of poor performance and absence of excellence in the public service has the tendency to undermine development and good governance in Nigeria.