E-Government and Bureaucratic Corruption in Nigeria: Successes and Challenges

Abstract

This paper explored the successes and challenges of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) adoption in the combat against bureaucratic corruption in the Nigerian public service. This study adopted a qualitative approach via in-depth interviews for data collection and thematic analysis. Interviews were conducted within purposively sampled public officials with over ten years of experience in the public service. Two major themes were identified; successes and challenges encountered in the fight against bureaucratic corruption with the use of ICT. It is discovered in this paper that ICT has played a significant role in the combat against bureaucratic corruption by increasing the revenue of the government through the Integrated Personnel Payroll Information System (IPPIS) and Treasury Single Account (TSA) systems. However, challenges faced in this regard can be attributed to the infrastructural gap, shortage of ICT skilled personnel and resistance by the public officials. It is therefore recommended that for the little success to be sustainable, those challenges must be mitigated.

Factors affecting the citizen’s intention to adopt e-government in Nigeria

“…Nigeria’s e-government framework plans to improve inward proficiency, public administration and democratic activities in the government’s legislative and administrative segments (Abdulkareem et al , 2021). The government aims to spread e-government use to smaller divisions and public services and boost nationwide computer ownership by offering subsidies to government agencies (Adeyemo, 2011).…”

“…Nigeria faces low levels of e-government adaption as a developing country (Abdulkareem et al , 2021; Abdulkareem and Mohd Ramli, 2022). This situation needs consideration from researchers because citizens play an indispensable part in the success of e-government (Mensah et al , 2021).…”

Examining Nigeria's Political Structure (NPS) as a Vehicle for Criminality, Corruption and Anti-National Development

“…A study further posited Nigerian politics and administration as a hidden disease of democracy and blight of development in the country (Abdulkareem et al, 2021). Again, Kanu (2020) argued that political corruption in Nigeria cuts across faiths, religious denominations, and political systems and affects both young and old, men and women alike.…”

Investigating ICT adoption and public value of e-recruitment in the public sector: the role of social media use

“…The Nigerian government unveiled its National Information Technology Policy and e-government masterplan in 2001 to similarly digitize public services and operations (Abdulkareem, 2015; Ifinedo, 2005). However, progress has been slow due to infrastructure limitations, skills gaps among civil servants, change resistance and lack of user participation in technology design (Oni et al ., 2016; Abdulkareem and Ramli, 2021c).…”

“…However, progress has been slow due to infrastructure limitations, skills gaps among civil servants, change resistance and lack of user participation in technology design (Oni et al ., 2016; Abdulkareem and Ramli, 2021c). Challenges highlighted in Nigeria’s e-government implementation include inadequate ICT infrastructure, especially Internet connectivity issues in public sector organizations, lack of qualified personnel to manage systems, bureaucratic resistance to change and low involvement of end-users in e-government design, affecting adoption (Abdulkareem, 2015). Typically, most agencies that carry out e-recruitment do not go beyond using social media like Facebook, Linkedin and Twitter for advertisement purposes.…”