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Public AdministrationEnvironmental Governance and Sustainable Development in Nigerian Local Governments
Elijah T
About This Research Topic Local government is, on paper, the tier of government closest to the flooded street, the blocked drain, and the overflowing refuse dump. In practice, Nigeria's environmental sanitation departments at this level are often the least funded and least equipped arm of government, precisely the ones citizens depend on most for grassroots environmental protection. This study looks at three local government areas in Enugu State to find out exactly where that gap between mandate and capacity comes from. This article works through a survey of 400 local government staff and residents across Enugu East, Enugu North, and Nsukka, testing how institutional capacity, policy enforcement, and citizen participation relate to sustainable environmental outcomes. Readers researching related governance topics can browse the Public Administration and National Development in Nigeria project on ScholarNest for a closely related study on Nigeria's public sector reform. What follows covers the background to environmental governance at the local government level in Nigeria, the specific problem this study addresses, its objectives, questions, and hypotheses, the key terms used throughout, and closes with frequently asked questions for students and researchers working on environmental governance and sustainable development. Main Abstract This study examined environmental governance and sustainable development in Nigerian local governments, with specific focus on selected Local Government Areas in Enugu State. The study was motivated by the growing environmental challenges confronting local communities in Nigeria, including indiscriminate waste disposal, flooding, deforestation, and poor sanitation, and the apparent weak capacity of local governments to translate environmental policy into sustainable outcomes. Anchored on Governance Theory and Principal-Agent Theory, the study adopted a descriptive survey research design. A sample of 400 respondents, comprising local government staff and residents, was drawn from three purposively selected LGAs, Enugu East, Enugu North, and Nsukka, using stratified random sampling. A structured questionnaire designed on a five-point Likert scale was the primary instrument for data collection, complemented by secondary data from government publications and institutional reports. Data collected were analysed using descriptive statistics, frequency counts, percentages, and mean scores, while the chi-square statistic was used to test the three hypotheses formulated for the study at the 0.05 level of significance. Findings revealed that environmental governance structures exist in the sampled local governments but are significantly hampered by inadequate funding, weak enforcement of environmental regulations, poor inter-governmental coordination, and low citizen participation in environmental decision-making. The study further found a statistically significant relationship between institutional capacity and the effectiveness of environmental governance, as well as a significant relationship between citizen participation and sustainable environmental outcomes. The study concludes that local governments in Nigeria, though constitutionally positioned as the closest tier of government to grassroots environmental problems, remain largely under-equipped to drive sustainable development outcomes. The study recommends, among others, the strengthening of the fiscal and regulatory autonomy of local governments, capacity building for environmental health personnel, enhanced collaboration between local, state, and federal environmental agencies, and the institutionalisation of participatory mechanisms that involve citizens and community-based organisations in environmental governance.
Public AdministrationE-Government Implementation and Citizen Satisfaction in Nigeria
Elijah T
About This Research Topic Building an online portal is the easy part. Getting citizens to actually feel satisfied using it, especially when something goes wrong, is a different problem entirely. Rivers State has rolled out e-government platforms for tax payment, land registry, driver's licensing, and identity enrolment, and this study set out to measure what citizens actually think of them, not what the deployment reports say. This article works through a survey of 265 citizens who use five of these platforms, testing which specific factors, accessibility, ease of use, reliability, or responsiveness, actually drive satisfaction. Readers researching related governance topics can browse the Public Administration and National Development in Nigeria project on ScholarNest for a closely related study on Nigeria's public sector reform. What follows covers the background to e-government adoption in Rivers State, the specific problem this study addresses, its objectives, questions, and hypotheses, the key terms used throughout, and closes with frequently asked questions for students and researchers working on digital public services and citizen satisfaction. Main Abstract This study examined the relationship between e-government implementation and citizen satisfaction, with specific focus on selected e-government platforms in Rivers State, Nigeria. The increasing deployment of digital platforms by government agencies to deliver public services electronically has generated considerable interest in the extent to which such platforms actually meet citizens' expectations and improve their overall experience of public service delivery. The study was guided by five objectives, five research questions, and three hypotheses examining the effect of accessibility, ease of use, service reliability, and responsiveness on citizen satisfaction. A descriptive survey research design was adopted, and a structured questionnaire built on a five-point Likert scale was administered to a sample of 280 citizens drawn from users of five purposively selected e-government platforms in Rivers State, namely the e-Tax/Revenue Payment Portal, the National Identity Number Enrolment Portal, the e-Land Registry/GIS Portal, the FRSC e-Driver's Licence Portal, and the CAC Online Business Registration Portal, using stratified random sampling from an estimated population of 15,000 registered users. Data collected from 265 valid respondents were analysed using descriptive statistics, frequency counts, percentages, means, and standard deviation, and inferential statistics, Pearson Product Moment Correlation and simple linear regression, with the aid of SPSS version 26. Findings revealed a statistically significant positive relationship between e-government implementation and citizen satisfaction (r = 0.64, p < 0.05), with ease of use accounting for approximately 34% of the variance in satisfaction. The study also found that while citizens generally perceive e-government platforms as accessible and reasonably easy to use, weaknesses in system reliability and, more critically, agency responsiveness to complaints and enquiries, constitute the most significant barriers to higher citizen satisfaction. The study concludes that e-government implementation is a significant driver of citizen satisfaction, but that its full benefits are constrained by inadequate customer support infrastructure, and recommends investment in more robust server infrastructure, dedicated citizen support channels, simplified user interfaces, and integrated single-window service platforms.
Public AdministrationDigital Governance and Public Sector Performance in Nigeria
Elijah T
About This Research Topic Rivers State has spent several years digitising revenue collection, automating civil service records, and building online platforms for public engagement. The harder question is whether any of it has actually made the state's ministries and agencies perform better, or whether digital tools have simply been layered on top of the same old bureaucratic bottlenecks. This study set out to measure that directly. This article works through a survey of 250 civil servants across six Rivers State ministries, departments, and agencies, testing how digital infrastructure, e-service delivery, and transparency mechanisms relate to actual performance outcomes. Readers researching related governance topics can browse the Public Administration and National Development in Nigeria project on ScholarNest for a closely related study on Nigeria's public sector reform. What follows covers the background to digital governance in Rivers State's public service, the specific problem this study addresses, its objectives, questions, and hypotheses, the key terms used throughout, and closes with frequently asked questions for students and researchers working on e-governance and public administration. Main Abstract This study examined the relationship between digital governance and public sector performance, with specific focus on selected Ministries, Departments and Agencies in Rivers State, Nigeria. The increasing adoption of Information and Communication Technology in public administration has generated considerable interest in how digital tools, e-service platforms, and electronic record systems influence efficiency, transparency, accountability, and service delivery in government institutions. The study was guided by five objectives, five research questions, and three hypotheses examining the effect of digital infrastructure, e-service delivery, and transparency and accountability mechanisms on public sector performance. A descriptive survey research design was adopted, and a structured questionnaire built on a five-point Likert scale was administered to a sample of 250 civil servants drawn from six purposively selected MDAs using stratified random sampling from a population of 1,850 staff. Data collected were analysed using descriptive statistics, frequency counts, percentages, means, and standard deviation, and inferential statistics, Pearson Product Moment Correlation and simple linear regression, with the aid of SPSS version 26. Findings revealed a statistically significant positive relationship between digital governance and public sector performance (r = 0.68, p < 0.05), indicating that improvements in digital infrastructure, e-service delivery, and transparency mechanisms are associated with improved efficiency and service delivery in the MDAs studied. The study also found that inadequate ICT infrastructure, low digital literacy among staff, epileptic power supply, and weak cybersecurity frameworks constitute major barriers to effective digital governance implementation. The study concludes that digital governance is a critical driver of public sector performance and recommends increased investment in ICT infrastructure, continuous digital literacy training for civil servants, and the development of robust policy frameworks to guide e-governance implementation in Rivers State and Nigeria at large.
Public AdministrationThe Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Public Service Delivery in Nigeria
Elijah T
About This Research Topic Getting a passport, filing a tax return, or registering for a National Identity Number in Nigeria has traditionally meant long queues, manual paperwork, and no small amount of uncertainty. Over the last few years, agencies like NIMC, FIRS, NIS, and FRSC have quietly rolled out AI-driven tools, biometric verification, algorithmic fraud detection, automated number plate recognition, meant to change that. This study asks a direct question: is it actually working? This article works through a survey of 240 civil servants across four federal agencies in Abuja, testing what AI adoption has actually done to service efficiency, citizen satisfaction, and institutional accountability. Readers researching related governance topics can browse the Public Administration and National Development in Nigeria project on ScholarNest for a closely related study on Nigeria's public sector reform. What follows covers the background to AI adoption in Nigeria's federal civil service, the specific problem this study addresses, its objectives, questions, and hypotheses, the key terms used throughout, and closes with frequently asked questions for students and researchers working on e-governance and digital public administration. Main Abstract This study examines the impact of artificial intelligence on public service delivery in Nigeria, with a focus on selected federal ministries and agencies in Abuja between 2019 and 2024. The study is motivated by the growing adoption of AI-driven technologies, including chatbots, algorithmic decision-making systems, biometric identification platforms, and data analytics tools, across Nigerian public institutions, and by the limited systematic empirical evidence on their effects on service efficiency, citizen satisfaction, and institutional accountability. Using a descriptive survey design and a structured questionnaire administered to 240 civil servants drawn from four federal agencies, the National Identity Management Commission, the Federal Inland Revenue Service, the Nigerian Immigration Service, and the Federal Road Safety Corps, the study collects both quantitative and qualitative data on respondents' experiences with, and perceptions of, AI-enabled service delivery systems. The study is grounded in New Public Management Theory, E-Governance Theory, Sociotechnical Systems Theory, and the Technology Acceptance Model, which together provide a comprehensive theoretical framework for understanding the conditions under which AI adoption contributes to improved public service outcomes. Data from the questionnaire are analysed using descriptive statistics, frequencies, means, and standard deviations, and inferential statistics, chi-square tests and simple linear regression. Three research hypotheses are tested, examining the relationships between AI adoption and service efficiency, citizen satisfaction, and public sector accountability, respectively. Findings indicate that AI adoption in Nigerian public agencies has made moderate but statistically significant contributions to improved service efficiency and reduced bureaucratic delays, though gains in citizen satisfaction and institutional accountability are more uneven. Key barriers to effective AI-driven service delivery include inadequate digital infrastructure, low digital literacy among both staff and citizens, concerns about data privacy and algorithmic bias, and inconsistent political and institutional commitment to AI governance frameworks. The study recommends the development of a comprehensive National AI Strategy for Public Services, sustained investment in digital infrastructure, public digital literacy programmes, and the establishment of an independent AI Ethics and Governance Oversight Board. These findings contribute to the growing scholarly literature on e-governance and digital public administration in sub-Saharan Africa.
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