Abstract
The public service is the central machinery with which the state discharges its responsibility of governance. The success or otherwise of government depends to a large extent on the effectiveness of its public service. This paper assesses the impact of the public service on poverty eradication in Nigeria with a focus on National Poverty Eradication Programme (NAPEP) of the federal Government. The paper used content analysis for its data generated via the secondary sources; while relying on public choice theory as its theoretical framework. The findings revealed that, NAPEP has been able to assist only a fraction of poor Nigerians in various ways such as provision of loan; provision of cash assistance, Keke NAPEP and a few other programmes. However, the achievements of the organisation are quite insignificant when compared with the magnitude of poverty in Nigeria. This explains why the incidences of poverty has remained high (about 64.4%) among Nigerians. The paper contends that rent seeking behaviour of public servants is the major hinderance to effective service delivery in the Nigerian public service. A number of problem currently bedevilling the organisation and its activities include inadequate funding, operational problems, lack of independence in decision making among others. It is recommended that, the federal Government reviews the operational framework of the agency; and improves its funding in order to grant it more operational autonomy in the pursuit of its mandates.
Highlights
The public service is indispensable tool for effective performance of government responsibility in every political community
This paper assesses the impact of the public service on poverty eradication in Nigeria with a focus on National Poverty Eradication Programme (NAPEP) of the federal Government
How adequate is NAPEP as a public service agency in the fight against poverty in Nigeria? What are the achievements of NAPEP in the eradication of poverty in Nigeria? What are the challenges and problems bedevilling the institution in her efforts at the eradication of poverty in Nigeria?
Summary
The public service is indispensable tool for effective performance of government responsibility in every political community. Efforts to reduce poverty among Nigerians have been a long standing one with successive Nigerian governments devising different policy measures aimed at curtailing the incidence of poverty Notable among such policy measures include the Operation Feed the Nation (1976), the Green Revolution (1979), the National Directorate of Employment (NDE)(1986), Directorate of Food, Roads and Rural Infrastructure (DFFRI)(1988), Poverty Alleviation Programme(1999), and a host of others (Idada,2003). The latest in the list of such policies is the National Poverty Eradication Programme (NAPEP) developed by president Olusegun Obasanjo in 2001 as an improvement on the Poverty Alleviation Programme (PAP) of the same Government In all of such programmes, the public services have important roles to play in their formulation, and in their effective implementation. Vol 1, No 1; 2012 of the problem, conceptual analysis, theoretical Framework, Roles and achievements of NAPEP, Discussions, Conclusion and Recommendations
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