Bureaucratization and Service Delivery in Nigeria

Public Service Ethics and Accountability

“…According to Idike et al (2019, p. 7), "The Nigerian bureaucracy had been conservative, neglecting the most critical elements of citizen-government collaboration and cooperation, and people-driven governance; regional representation in the public service is without citizen participation in the policy choice and, under such conditions, the general interest becomes the last resort." No doubt, public services in Nigeria over the years have received the highest level of negative societal criticisms in spite of varied ethical codes and reforms in the bureaucracy (Ukeje et al 2019). This agrees with the position of Atkinson (2016), that public employees are themselves driven by personal values that speak to duty and obligation to service.…”

“…As societies evolve, it is necessary for alterations to be made on the administrative structures to reflect the constant game-changing flux in which societies find themselves. According to Ukeje et al (2019), the extent to which service delivery conforms to ethical standards depends on the environment within which bureaucratic functions are carried out. This position implies partly that unless public service system becomes sensitive to the constant changes and demands from the informal realm of society and reinvents itself to respond to the challenges, it may find itself fighting the same people it is created to serve in the first place.…”

“…Thus, the Nigerian public service expects a sound political and administrative system that is driven by virtues of discipline, integrity, dignity of labor, social justice, impartiality, transparency, accountability, and equity where extant rules and established regulations guide official conduct (Ukeje et al 2019). It is presupposed that the acquisition of these virtues will improve our ethical practices and standards.…”

“…As a point of departure, this entry argues for the institutionalization of a citizen-centered Ethical Compliance Service Charter (ECSC), as part of the much bigger NPM agenda aimed at enhancing the quality of public service delivery and the attainment of social accountability framework in the entire governance framework. To expand on this thought, the entry, attempted to highlight the relationships among the four important dimensions in the debate on bureaucratic ethics which have been understudied in Nigeria: Ukeje et al (2019), public service environment constitutes the entire spaces within which the business of bureaucracy is carried on especially in policy implementation. It ranges from the physical/structural to the ideological/ normative dimensions.…”

Policy-Making for Sustainable Empowerment and Poverty Reduction Scheme in Nigeria

“…One fundamental problem of Nigeria's development strategies points to scarce statistics to track performance, provide necessary information, and evaluate the policies. Ukeje et al (2019b) assert that public service delivery in Nigeria has witnessed declining performance levels since colonial administrative period. However, strong political will and institutional efficiency could offer some relief.…”