Local Government Communicated Information and Citizens’ Information Preference in Imo State, Nigeria

Abstract

Needed information is more acceptable than other information forced on people. This paper was built upon this premise and therefore went to investigate the type of information citizens of local governments in Imo State, Nigeria wanted as against what the local government communicates to them. Thirteen out of 27 local governments in Imo State were surveyed by the use of questionnaire. 1840 respondents were proportionally selected from the 13 purposively selected local government areas, among the government’s lawful working age group. Analysing the retrieved questionnaire, using discrete numbers and percentages, it was discovered that financial information, which the citizens needed most from their local governments, were minimized. Citizens would like to get information on all the activities of the local governments. The most preferred information by the citizens includes information about government finances, job creation, establishment of companies, and training of citizens. The local governments, on the other hand, provided more information on need to pay taxes, licenses, rates, and elections. It is recommended that local governments should release to their citizens all information about their activities because local government information is a public information.

Key Words: Citizens, Information dissemination, Financial information communication, Preferred information, Local government area, Needed information.