Politics and Politicking: The Undoing of Effective Public Administration in Nigeria

Abstract

Public Administration, as an institution, is primarily the arm of government that is concerned with the implementation of government policies and programmes. Politics and politicking as the practice of determining resource allocation within a polity has been practiced with attendant negative consequences that have impacted on the practice of public administration in Nigeria and has made it less effective. From resource allocations to state/local government  creations and social violence arising from conflicts of political interests and supporters, politics in Nigeria has become the undoing of the practice of public administration in Nigeria. It is however recommended that with improved welfare for the public servants, a re-orientation of politics in practice and a reinforced political neutrality of the public servants, there would be hope for improved service delivery and image cleansing of the Nigerian public service.