Department of public administration

IMPACT OF CORRUPTION IN THE CIVIL SERVICE IN NIGERIA BY USING EDO STATE CIVIL SERVICE AS A CASE STUDY
CHAPTER ONE
                                     INTRODUCTION
1.1      Background to the Study
The machinery for implementing government policies is the civil service. The effectiveness of public service performance is determined by the socio-political environment under which it operates. As an important instrument for execution of policies and programmes of government, the public service is expected to be competent, and effective devoid of corruption practices. In Nigeria, the economic and political landscape is surrounded by corruption. According to National Planning Commission (2005) “systemic corruption and low levels of transparency and accountability have been major sources of development failures. To perform its functions effectively, public service needs to be divested from all sorts of corrupt acts.
Effective public service performance is a pre-requisite for sustainable development. This notion is anchored on the fact that government ability to deliver on her promises for better living is based on the efficiency of its public service performance. Therefore, the inability of the Nigerian public service to perform optimally had over the years constituted a challenge, yet to be resolved. It is a known fact, and Nigerian experience exampled to this, that corruption is pronounced in the public service, its efficiency as well as ability to effect policy directed toward sustainable development goals like reduction of poverty, remains very low. The behaviour of public officials which deviates from accepted norms in order to serve private ends is corruption. It is a general term covering misuse of authority as a result of considerations of personal gain, embezzlement, stealing or misappropriation of public funds. Corruption has become highly rampant and permeates every sphere of state and society. Corruption in political and administrative arena hinders equality, efficiency, effectiveness, responsiveness, accountability and justice and so on.
Corruptions in Nigeria exist at an alarming proportion. In government via public service, it thrives in the areas of project costing; ghost workers syndrome, contract awards and subsequent abandonment, payment of huge sums of money to political godfathers; embezzlement and misappropriation of public funds among others. The impact of corruption on the Nigerian society includes abysmal public service performance, inadequate infrastructure, bad governance, pervasive dehumanizing poverty and general underdevelopment. This accounts for the inefficient and unimpressive governance in Nigeria.
Corruption remains endemic as well as extremely prevalent in the public service which affects its effectiveness and performance. There are instances where corruption within the public service manifested over the years: the haphazard or ineffective implementation of federal budgets between 1999-2002 could be gleaned from the people who the senate indicted over “an alleged non-implementation of all appropriation Acts since the dawn of democracy (in May 1999)” (Eminue, 2005). The persistent challenge in the Nigerian health sector is human resources' crisis, which has the tendency to cripple the sector. Inadequate investment, weak administration and corruption remain the cause of poor health workers welfare and the widespread inefficiency in the healthcare workforce (Odusile, 2017). It is on the background of this that study aims to investigate impact of corruption in the civil service in Nigeria by using Kaduna State civil service as a case study.
1.2      Statement of the Problem
Corruption has become a major problem in government. Corruption emanates from the top level and so, the higher echelons of government are infested with the disease of corruption. Politics has been converted into pursuit of personal ends. The public office has become an opportunity to “strike gold and enjoy loaves and fishes of office”. The sharp decline in the standards of conduct of public service, and in such circumstances, governance, administration and management have lost their relevance. For example, the non implementation of government policies, financial fraud and crises of confidence within the ministries and its agencies. The alleged fraud and embezzlement and contract scam involving the Minister of Petroleum for State and NNPC Group Managing Director. The minister had lodged a detailed/documented complaint with the president of the Federal Republic and substantive oil minister, on the junior minister's alleged sideling and insubordination by the NNPC Group Managing Director, in all matters on high level appointments, promotions, and award of contracts well exceeding 20billion dollars. Another is the non implementation of budgets by the various Ministries and Agencies of Government. The crisis of confidence in the health sector over allegations of fraud between the Executive Secretary, National Health Insurance Scheme and the Minister of Health which has resulted to incessant strike actions by health workers. These problems are no doubt caused by corruption. Worse is the fact that despite the rapid growth in the size and power of the public service, there has not been an accompanied noticeable improvement in performance to the public or increased labour productivity in the public sector. The pertinent question is: how has corruption affected effective public service performance for sustainable development in Nigeria?

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