Lower and Upper Benue River Basin and Rural Development Authorities and Rural Development: A Comparative Study

Abstract

Successive governments in Nigeria have adopted different strategies and programme to develop the rural areas because majority of people in the country live and find their livelihood in the rural areas. The paper therefore, set out to compare how the Lower and Upper Benue River Basin and Rural Development Authorities have developed their host communities, to identify the constraints of the organisations in developing rural areas; and to proffer recommendations to the constraints of the organisations in developing their host communities. Primary and secondary data were obtained using questionnaire and documents respectively. The primary data were presented using frequencies and percentages. It was revealed that inadequate funding, poor maintenance culture, staff retrenchment and commercialisation of the organisations have negatively affected their efforts in rural development. It was therefore recommended that government should disburse funds adequately and timely to the organisations and more qualified personnel be recruited into the services of the organisations. Above all, the government and host communities of the organisations should support and be committed to the activities of the River Basin Authorities to facilitate their success.