Public expenditure management and development in Nigeria: an examination of National Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy (NEEDS) 2004

Abstract

In recent times there has been renewed emphasis on expenditure management because fiscal stress has constrained the ability of most countries, especially the developing world to provide social and economic infrastructure for their citizens. Hence, concerted efforts have been made in most developing countries to eliminate waste, control the inexorable rise in government expenditure and free up resources to provide social and economic infrastructure. This contribution critically examines the public expenditure management reform embedded in the National Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy (NEEDS) 2004 by the Obasanjo regime in Nigeria. It assesses the impact of the reform on the nation’s development. The discourse is analytical, it relies on secondary data sources and adopts the New Public Management theory as its framework of analysis. It argues that the public sector expenditure reform encapsulated in NEEDS has been counterproductive. To improve the efficacy of the reform, corruption has to be addressed and transparency enhanced in our political institutions. In addition, there is need to re-launch our development priorities in line with local needs, local conditions and level of the productive forces.