Evaluation Of Social Service Delivery At The Local Government Level In Abia State, Nigeria (2007-2014)

Abstract

This study evaluated the deteriorating state of social services at the Local Government levels in

Abia State, Nigeria (2007-2014). The objectives of the study were aims were to ascertain the

contributions of elected and appointed local government officials towards social service delivery,

identify other bodies that complemented the efforts of local governments towards basic

infrastructural provisions and to identify the challenges hindering the effective and efficient

social services provisioning by the Local Governments. Three research questions were posed to

guide the study. The Efficiency Service Theory was adopted for the discourse as it sees the local

government as the best agent for providing social services at the local level in the most effective

and efficient manner. Descriptive survey design was adopted for the study while questionnaire

was used to collect information from the respondents in the study area. Systematic sampling

method was used to select three Local Governments from the three Senatorial Zones in the state

for the study. The data collected were analyzed using simple percentage. Qualitative data and

extensive literature review were also used in the analysis to reflect historical evolution and the

objectives of social services in the study area in order to establish the present state and nature of

service delivery. The findings of the study revealed that although the Federal and State public

agencies, NGOs, local communities and philanthropists complemented the efforts of the local

government in social service delivery, the local government as the closest level of government to

the people has failed to meet the desire of rural and grassroots development through social

service delivery. These failures were largely due to appointment of local government chairmen

which resulted to less service delivery because those appointed owed their allegiance to the

people who appointed them rather than the masses, excessive interference of the federal and state

governments in local government affairs, top-down policy approach, lack of financial and

qualified personnel, corruption through bribery, embezzlement and misappropriation of public

funds among others. The implications of the study were that poor performance of Local

Governments on social service led to underdevelopment and these would continue to thrive in

the rural areas of the state if measures were not taken to curb these problems. It is therefore

recommended that there should be election of local government chairmen rather than

appointment to encourage the political leaders’ commitment to the needs of the people, sourcing

for alternative sources of revenue apart from federal and state allocations, and involvement of the

people in projects and programmes concerning them to avoid negligence and decay among

others.