Abstract
This
study investigates the impact of e-governance on transparency and
accountability in Nigeria’s public administration, with a specific focus on
Ekiti State from 2018 to 2022. The motivation for the research stems from the
increasing need to modernize government operations, enhance public service
delivery, and combat systemic corruption through the application of Information
and Communication Technology (ICT). The primary objective of the study is to
examine how the adoption of e-governance platforms contributes to achieving
good governance, particularly by promoting accountability and transparency in
public agencies. The study adopts a survey research design, engaging 100
respondents selected through stratified sampling techniques across various public
agencies in Ekiti State. Data were analyzed using frequency tables, percentage
distributions, mean scores, and the Chi-square statistical test. The findings
indicate that while Nigeria began embracing e-governance in the early 2000s,
the implementation has largely been fragmented and driven by the private sector
rather than coordinated public policy. Nonetheless, the deployment of ICT in
governance is shown to be crucial for ensuring access to accurate information,
efficient service delivery, and enabling public participation in
decision-making processes. Respondents highlighted several challenges hindering
effective e-governance implementation in Ekiti State, such as inadequate ICT
infrastructure, limited digital literacy, and resistance from public officials
due to fear of accountability. Conversely, successful implementation of
e-governance was recognized to significantly improve access to government
information, reduce corruption, and promote transparency in government projects
and expenditures. Moreover, e-governance fosters a more inclusive form of
governance by creating digital platforms that allow citizens to monitor
government activities and contribute to policy-making processes. The study
concludes that although Nigeria’s e-governance framework is still in its
developmental stages, its potential to transform public administration is
immense. The successful integration of e-governance tools will not only promote
transparency and accountability but also enhance economic development by
creating an environment that encourages innovation, investment, and efficiency.
To achieve this, the study recommends strengthening ICT infrastructure across
all regions, initiating digital literacy programs, and enforcing policies that
promote open governance. Additionally, a robust monitoring and evaluation
framework must be established to track progress, while fostering a culture of
maintenance and equitable access to digital services. E-governance, if properly
implemented, can become a cornerstone for effective governance in Nigeria.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the Study
1.2 Statement
of the Problem
1.3 Research
Questions
1.4 Objectives
of the Study
1.5 Basic
Assumptions
1.6 Justification
of the Study
1.7 Scope
of the Study
1.8 Limitation
to the Study
1.9 Definition
of Terms
1.10 Theoretical
Framework
1.11 Methodology
1.12 Organization
of the Study
CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW AND THEORETICAL
FRAMEWORK
2.0
Conceptual Review
2.1 Governance
2.2 Government
2.4 E-Governance Implementation in Nigeria
2.5
The Opportunities of ICTs as a means
of Public Service Delivery in the Nigeria Civil Service
2.6 E-Governance Implementation and its
Administrative Efficiency in the Nigeria Civil Service
2.7
E-Governance Implementation and
Reduction of Corruption in Nigeria
2.8
Empirical Review
2.9
Theoretical Framework
CHAPTER THREE RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
3.1 Research Design
3.2 Population of the Study
3.3 Sample and Sampling Techniques
3.5 Validity of Instrument
3.6 Reliability of Instrument
3.7 Method of Data Collection
3.8 Method of Data Analysis
3.9 Description
of the Study Area
CHAPTER FOUR
DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION
4.0 Introduction
4.1 Analysis of Respondents Demographic Data
4.2 Analysis of Responses to the Problem Areas
4.3 Discussion of Findings
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
5.1 Summary
5.2 Conclusion
5.3 Recommendations
Bibliography
Appendix
I: Questionnaire
Appendix
II
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background
to the Study
The
realization or actualization of sustainable development cannot be possible
without good governance. Therefore, the manner that a country is governed
determines the level of development. The United Nations has set up sustainable
development with 17 goals and for any country to achieve these goals it
requires good governance. The increase in globalization and information and
communication technology has made governments to embark on e-government or
e-governance initiative to ensure effective and efficient service delivery,
increase citizens’ participation in decision making process, promote democracy,
ensure accountability and transparency (Nosiri & Ndoh, 2018).
Governments
all over the world are faced with the challenge of transformations and the need
to innovate government systems in order to meet the increasing demands of
citizens and to deliver efficient and cost effective services, information and
knowledge through information and communication technologies (UN, 2012).
Government cannot achieve its goals in this present time without effective use
of ICT for delivery of services and exercise of its authority. This is because
the evolution and diffusion of technology has brought about a revolution in the
way people live, work, care for others, and interact and information and
communication technologies (ICTs) in particular, have become a part of everyday
life (United Nations E-Government Survey, 2016).
An
important approach/innovation that has been adopted to improve efficiency in
governance in many parts of the world is the introduction of electronic
governance (eGovernance). Electronic governance (e-Governance) refers to the
use of the Information and Communication Technology in public management and by
extension, public service delivery
(Chatfield & Alhujran, 2009). It
involves the use of Information Communication Technology (ICT) in conducting
government‘s businesses (Saxena, 2005). According to Awoleye, Oluwaranti,
Siyanbola, and
Adagunodo (2008), e-Governance include the use of Information Communication Technologies
(ICTs) to carry out information exchange with the citizens, businesses and
among various government arms including the judiciary, the executive and
legislature.
E-governance
is a two-way communication protocol which engages the use of information and
communication technology (ICT) towards expediting delivery of government
services (Falco & Kleinhans, 2018). It also involves the exchange of
varying data and communication transactions, integration of various stand-alone
systems and services as well as back-office processes and interactions within
the entire government structure (Humadi, 2015; Rajiv, Amit, & Arindam,
2017).
The
use of e-governance among many countries of the world is premised on its
perceived capabilities to facilitate efficient service delivery to the public.
The primary benefits of eGovernance include efficiency and its capabilities to
reduce corruption through automation. InfoDev and The Center for Democracy and
Technology (2002) stated that e-Governance has the potential to reducing income
disparities between countries as well as promote tourism among other national
benefits (Awoleye 2008).
In Nigeria, the application of
e-governance initiative can be traced to the formulation of Nigeria
National Policy
for Information Technology in 2001 (Oni, Okunoye & Mbarika, 2016; Abasilim,
Gbereubie & Ifaloye, 2017). This policy has the cardinal objectives to:
Ensure that the IT resources are readily available for promotion of efficient
national development; empowerment of Nigeria citizens in participating in
software and IT development; improve accessibility to public administration for
citizens; ensuring transparency to government processes, develop IT into the
mainstream of education and training; enhance national security and law enforcement;
develop human capital etc (Nigerian National Policy for Information Technology,
n.d). To achieve the following objectives, the Nigerian government established
the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) under the
Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) in April 2001 in order to promote the
advancement of the innovative technology in Nigeria and implement the national
IT policy (Ibrahim, Taib & Shahzad, 2016).
The
purpose of implementing e-governance is to enhance good governance. Good
governance is generally characterized by participation, transparency and
accountability. The recent advances in communication technologies and the
Internet provide opportunities to transform the relationship between
governments and citizens in a new way, thus contributing to the achievement of
good governance goals. (Ojo, 2014).
Vishanth
(2017) argue for e-government initiatives to be implemented logically in line
with the diversity of government structures, local cultures, economic
conditions, technological resources/infrastructures, citizens’ trust and
socio-political factors. Shim and Eom (2008) and Kurfalı et.al.,(2017) urge
governments to continually appraise the effectiveness of egovernment processes,
mainly as a tool for promoting good governance as well as for strengthening
reformoriented initiatives which would contribute towards enhancing relationships
with citizens and facilitate more efficient monitoring and evaluation
processes.
According
to Ojo (2014), also sees e-governance as the application of information
communication technology (ICT) by the government to enhance accountability,
create awareness and ensures transparency in the management of governmental
business. He also states that egovernance can be seen as a political strategy
of government through which their activities can be showcased to the public.
Consequently, electronic governance operates simultaneously with erecord,
e-registration, e-participation, e-taxation, e-mobilization, e-education,
e-service delivery, e-feedback, e-policing, e-planning, e-debate and analyses
of public services. It also creates awareness for the general local populace in
relation to activities such as immunization, vaccination, civic education, time
for collection of waste, identification of community development association in
every neighbourhood and making suggestions for the betterment of government programmes
(Dike, 2019).
It has been observed
however, that one of the ways agencies of government and indeed the public
service can achieve the purpose for which they were setup to achieve is through
accountability (Aman et al, 2013; Oni et al, 2015). It has been argued that
accountability entails that government officials, whether elected or appointed
that manage public agencies are made accountable or responsive to the public
for their actions (Henshaw, 2008). Some scholars have also argued that improving
accountability in the public or private sector organizations is an effective
strategy for development (Thompson, 1980; Akpanuko & Asogwa, 2013). To
overcome the challenge of non-accountable nature of public agencies, some
scholars have argued that the adoption of e-governance in a society is more
likely to bring the citizens closer to the government and act as a platform to
elicit information from them to enhance the quality of decisions of these
public agencies in their quest to achieve the goals for which they were
established to accomplish (Oladoyin, 2006; Ayo, 2014; Ojo, 2014; Oni et al,
2015).
1.2 Statement
of the Problem
Even
though the Nigerian government has made efforts in the application of ICT for
effective governance, Nigeria is still faced with the problem of improving on
e-government development initiatives, which has adversely affected good
governance. This can be seen on the current global ranking, where Nigeria is
ranked 143 position in e-government readiness or development at middle or
medium level of e-government development with 0.3291 e-government development
index (EGDI) (United Nations E-government Survey, 2016). Since 2001 United
Nations E-government Survey, Nigeria has been unable to move to the high level
of e-governance development (Nosiri & Oloto, 2017). In addition, Nigeria
has been faced with the challenges of achieving good governance, which has
undermined sustainable development. This is manifest on the increase in
corruption, low accountability and transparency, low level of citizens’
participation, poor service delivery or ineffective and inefficient service
delivery.
1.3 Research
Questions
The following questions are posed for the
study
i.
why is effective e-governance necessary for the
realization of good governance in Nigeria?
ii. why
is the adoption of e-governance required to facilitate accountability and
transparency in public agencies in Nigeria? iii. why does the non-adoption of
e-governance platform has implication for development in public agencies in
Nigeria?
1.4 Objectives
of the Study
The main objective of the study is to
examine the role of e-governance in promoting transparency and accountability
in governance. The specific objectives are to:
i. determine
how effective e-governance is necessary for realization of good governance in
Nigeria
ii. examine how adoption of e-governance is
required to facilitate accountability and transparency in public agencies in
Nigeria?
iii. evaluate the implications of
non-adoption of e-governance platform by public agencies in Nigeria?
1.5 Basic
Assumptions
The basic assumptions are
i.
Effective e-governance is not necessary for realization
of good governance in Nigeria
ii.
The adoption of e-governance cannot facilitate
accountability and transparency of public agencies in Nigeria
iii. Non-adoption
of e-governance platform by public agencies does not have an implication for
development in Nigeria
1.6 Justification
of the Study
In
the field of public administration, e-governance is the most recent and fastest
developing sub-field. It has also been adjudged to be the most fashionable
service delivery mechanism in organizations. Therefore, the justification of
the study is enormous. It is a fact that researches relating to e-governance
are just coming up just as the subfield itself. It is along this line that
Patil (2011) remarked that no country or organisation has so far realized and
fully utilized the benefits of e-governance. However, a handful of studies have
earlier been conducted by Madugu (2012);
Fatile (2012)
and Ojo (2014). While Madugu (2012) focused on ICT in internal government
operations, Fatile’s (2012) study was so broad as it emphasizes on the myth and
opportunity of egovernance in Nigeria. On his part, Ojo (2014) focused on the
imperative of e-governance for sustainable grass root development. None of
these researches assessed the role of e-governance in promoting transparency
and accountability in governance.
The study is
thus unique and justified as it intends to bridge this knowledge gap. The
currency of the literature reviewed will no doubt provide useful information to
researchers. Also, the current administration will benefit from the study in
that it will identify opportunities and threats to the nation’s e-governance
structure and mechanism. This way, the opportunities might be explored and the
threats dealt with. The citizens who are the largest stakeholders of the
nation’s e-governance would also benefit from the concrete recommendations made
which provide basis for improvement.
1.7 Scope of
the Study
The study is
e-governance in promoting transparency and accountability in governance in
Ekiti State. The study focuses on the administration in public agencies. The
study deliberately chooses to cover 2018-2022 in relation to its time frame.
This is because, major developments that are of interest to e-governance took
place within this period.
1.8 Limitation
to the Study
A study of this
nature is of course bound to have some limitations. For instance, the secondary
data needed to complement the primary data in analysis was not sufficiently
available. Also, empirical researches needed for review were not sufficiently
available. These limitations however are not enough to invalidate the findings
of the study and its quality as the available secondary data were optimally
utilized and empirical researches thoroughly reviewed.
1.9 Definition
of Terms
E-governance: E-governance as used in
this study implies the application of information and communication technology
(ICT) by government and its agencies in order to deliver faster and better
services to governance stakeholders.
Government:
Public agencies and public servants who undertake government services.
Governance: Conducting the affairs of
state, organization and people.
Transparency: Transparency refers to
holding public officials accountable for their operations. Transparency ensures
accountability, openness, and communication between the public and government.
Accountability: Accountability means
that public officials, elected and unelected have an obligation to explain
their decisions and actions to the citizens.
1.10 Theoretical
Framework
This
paper is essentially anchored on modernization theory. The leading exponents of
modernization theory are W.W. Rostow (1953). Roxborough (1979). Modernization
theory is a description and explanation of the processes of transformation from
traditional or underdeveloped societies to modern societies.
Modernization
theory is used to explain the process of modernization within societies.
Modernization refers to a model of a progressive transition from a 'pre-modern'
or 'traditional' to a 'modern' society. The theory looks at the internal
factors of a country while assuming that, with assistance,
"traditional" countries can be brought to development in the same
manner more developed countries have. Modernization theory attempts to identify
the social variables that contribute to social progress and development of
societies, and seeks to explain the process of social evolution. Modernization
theory is subject to criticism originating among socialist and freemarket
ideologies, world-systems theorists, globalization theorists and dependency
theorists among others. Modernization theory not only stresses the process of
change, but also the responses to that change. It also looks at internal
dynamics while referring to social and cultural structures and the adaptation
of new technologies.
Modernization
theory maintains that traditional societies will develop as they adopt more
modern practices. Proponents of modernization theory claim that modern states
are wealthier and more powerful, and that their citizens are freer to enjoy a
higher standard of living.
A
fundamental question about modernization theory concerns its assumptions on the
basic causes of underdevelopment and poverty. Modernization theorists argue
that poverty results primarily from inadequate economic growth and
„traditional‟ social structures. Modernization theorists also posits that
modernization of the economy is required for wealth creation and poverty will
then reduce as benefits „trickle down‟ through society.
Relevance of the theory to the
Study
This theory is
appropriate because it truly illustrates the basic causes of underdevelopment
and poverty and also taking into consideration that it is a description or
explanations of the processes of transformation from traditional or
underdeveloped societies to modern societies. It calls for a model of a
progressive transition from a 'pre-modern' or 'traditional' to a 'modern'
society which per say “e-governance is part and parcel of that transformation
in providing effective service to the people”. At a wider level, the
modernization theory is related and best explains this paper since it
recognizes the need to bridge the gap between macro policies and micro
realities, placing particular emphasis on the macro level activities that are
normally the responsibility of the state government. It recognizes that
e-governance will be more effective when it is „demand-led‟ and incorporated
into plans for improving the effectiveness of government.
1.11 Methodology
Research Design: This study employed a
descriptive survey design that was a type of research undertaken with the aim
of describing characteristics of variables in a situation. The descriptive
survey design enabled collection of data without manipulating the research
variables. The descriptive study designed optimized on the strengths of both
quantitative and qualitative research methodology.
Sample Size and Sampling Technique: The
probability sampling method was engaged for this study. The sampling technique
is the simple random sampling which will give every respondents an equal chance
of being represented.
Sources of Data Collection: The data
for the study will be collected using both primary and secondary source of
data. Primary source of data involve the use of questionnaire and interview
while the secondary source of data includes journals, textbooks etc.
Instrument
of Data Collection: The researcher shall design a well-structured interview
and questionnaire mainly made up of close ended questions, aimed at generating
brief and specific answers from the participants. The questionnaire consists of
two sections. Section A was based on the respondents’ bio-data, section B was
based on the statement concerning the research variables.
Validity and Reliability of the Research
Instruments: The validity of the instruments of this research was
ascertained by the supervisor and other research experts in the department.
Reliability of the research instrument involves the consistency of the result
obtained with the instrument and if the instrument gives similar, close or the
same result if the study is repeated under the same assumptions.
Method
of Data Analysis: All data collected would be analyzed using simple
descriptive statistics and the data will be presented in frequency tables and
percentages.
1.12 Organization
of the Study
This research
is designed to contain five chapters. Chapter one is the introductory chapter
which provides the background to the study, statement of the research problem,
research questions, objectives of the study, basic assumptions, justification
for the study, scope of the study, limitations of the study and definition of
terms.
The second
chapter relates to the review of related literature and the theoretical
framework which guides the study. The literature review focused on the concept
and scope of e-governance; perceived benefits and challenges to e-governance.
Empirical researches were also reviewed.
Chapter three
contains the research methodology utilized by the study. Specifically, it
contains the research design; population and sample size of the study: sampling
technique; sources and methods of data collection; administration of
instruments and the method of data analysis.
Chapter four
provides the presentation and analyses of data; interpretation; test of
hypotheses and the summary of major findings.
The fifth chapter concludes by providing
the summary, conclusions and recommendations of the study.
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