New public management: Empirical analysis of local government areas performance in Nigeria

Abstract

Local Government Areas (LGAs) in Nigeria are expected to initiate development and bridge social and economic gap of the citizenry. However, the declinıng federal monthly allocation and stiff control from states government has impaired their performance. This necessitates LGAs to be proactive in revenue generation and cost-cutting approach to meet public utility demands. Thus, this study evaluated the impact of NPM reforms index on LGAs performance in Nigeria. Mixed design was used in the study. The thirty-three LGAs in Oyo State, Nigeria formed the population of the study. Multi-stage sampling technique was adopted and validated structured questionnaire was used to elicit information from the respondents. NPM reforms index considered in the study include inclusiveness, customer concept, and decentralization while LGAs performance measured were equity, effectiveness and efficiency which were moderated by political interference. The data was analyzed using Partial least square with the aid of Smart PLS 3 Statistical software. The findings revealed that decentralization and inclusiveness influence LGAs performance and political interference affect LGAs performance. The study concluded that NPM reforms index impact LGAs performance. The study recommended among others that LGAs authority should focus on NPM reforms index to improve equity, effectiveness in revenue expansion and efficiency in spending. expansion and efficiency in spending.