The Structure of the Local Government Bureaucracy and the Attainment of Development Goals in Bayelsa, Edo and Rivers States of Nigeria

Introduction There is a nexus between bureaucracy and development, especially in a developing country like Nigeria. According to Gbenga and Ariyo (2006), increasing the tempo of development in any polity must consider the various players in the system. The bureaucracy, being the engine house for the actualization of policies, privately or publicly, remains a major instrumentality that can drive development. Unfortunately, they not~ development has been undermined and retarded by the menace of corrupt practices. They elucidated that it will amount to affirming the obvious by saying that corruption has permeated every facet of the Nigerian society. According to them, several reforms aimed at making the civil and local government bureaucracy more proficient and result-oriented, have been carried out since independence. They, however, lamented that not much have been achieved from.such reforms, attributing corruption as one of the factors that have affected the success of such reforms (Gbcnga &Ariyo, 2006). Erne and Emeh (2012) stated that government bureaucracy is a very important factor required for the process of rural development. That is why, in their opinion, the strength of any bureaucracy defines its output. The greater the strength of the efficiency of the bureaucracy to tackle intricate and societal development plans, the greater the development potentials of that society. However, Okafor (2009) opined that this assertion does not, in any way, suggest that government bureaucracy remains the only force that drives development, though, it remains a necessary machinery. Local government management in Nigeria, according to Agba, Stephen and Nnamani (2014), has been bedeviled by open market mentality, pitiable accounting processes, absence of reliable data needed for planning, excess politicization, insufficient funding and reduced revenue, greed, higher government interference, lack of direction and corruption. The bureaucracy at the level of the local government accounts for, and in some other cases, is implicated in some of the aforementioned pathologies. There is the need, therefore, to cast an indulgent eye on the bureaucracy, especially its structure at this local level with the singular objective of restructuring it to deliver development at this level of governance. Historically, local government in Nigeria, since independence, has gone through a chequered progression. It remains the closest governmental apparatus to the citizens that is supposed to relate more swiftly to the needs of the people. It is charged with bringing the profound benefits of governmental administration to the citizens. These benefits . ' among others, include making democratic practices more proximate and a~so delivering efficient services to the masses. However, some of these benefits, so far, have remained largely elusive at the level oflocal government in Nigeri~. Reforms by past governments, which include the 1976 Local Government Reform, the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1979, the Dasuki 1984 Report of the Nigerian Local Government, the Handbook of Local Government Administration, 1992 and the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, which were supposedly aimed at properly positioning governments at the local level for delivering the profound benefits of development, so far, have not yielded the desired results. The governments at the local level in Nigeria still grapple, seemingly, with the challenge of efficiently delivering services and also bringing development proximate to the people. Previous reforms of the local government system that were supposedly aimed at strengthening the political arm and bureaucratic arm of government at the local level, towards efficient performance have, thus far, failed to meet their objectives especially that of development. Governments at the local level in Nigeria in the past years have received several trillion naira in taxes as internal revenue and also from external sources. However, there seems to be a lacuna between the huge income received by governments at the local level in Nigeria and the fulfillment of their responsibilities as stipulated by the constitution

Community-based participatory irrigation management at local government level in Ghana

Ghana has attempted to decentralise the management of irrigation schemes to communities at local government level. This study examines the existing local participatory management structures and the principles of the Participatory Irrigation Management (PIM) strategy designed to promote sustainable management of irrigation schemes in Ghana. Two community-based irrigation projects, Bontanga and Golinga in the Northern Region of Ghana were selected for the research. The study demonstrated that farmers’ participation was minimal and limited to the discussion of irrigation service charges at the expense of other issues related to the sustainability of the projects/schemes. The study also established that there was less participation of women, and more than half of all the crop farmers on the two irrigation projects were reluctant to assume additional responsibilities without remuneration. The study therefore concluded that the sustainability of the PIM strategy depends on the adoption of an integrated management approach involving all stakeholders including local government, with appropriate incentives

THE ROLE OF TRADITIONAL RULERS IN CURBING ELECTORAL VIOLENCE IN NIGERIA

The Nigerian state since independence has been bedeviled by electoral violence. The use of security forces and advocacy in the media by government and its agencies, and other measures have so far failed in stemming electoral violence in the country. This study therefore attempts to situate the role of traditional rulers in curbing electoral violence in the country. Using the structural functionalism theoretical framework and relying on personal observation as a primary source of data as well as secondary sources of data, the study found out that the major causes of electoral violence in the country are a consequence of the failure of contemporary security measures, media advocacy and also lack of mentoring of its citizens by relevant institutions and government's present methods. The study recommends that giving traditional rulers and their institutions this role of mentoring their subjects on the dangers of electoral violence, and also establishing an 'indirect homeland security system' will assist in curbing electoral violence in the counhy. It also recommends that traditional rulers should withdraw and refuse honours to people who indulge in electoral violence as well as call to order perpetrators and sponsors of electoral violence

An Empirical Enquiry into the Attributes of Residential Satisfaction that Predict Students’ Satisfaction in Public Halls of Residence in Technical Universities in Ghana

This study aim at identifying the attributes of residential satisfaction that predict students’ satisfaction in public halls of residence in Technical Universities in Ghana, and to establish the relative significance level of each of the attributes, using Takoradi Technical University as a case study. The study adopted a questionnaire survey approach; and questionnaires were self-administered to 558 students. Data were analysed using RSI and percentages, and were presented in tables. The study revealed that, in order of relative significance, Building quality, Owners’ maintenance culture, Social, Neighbourhood, Management, and Dwelling unit features with corresponding RSI values of 0.80871, 0.80753, 0.80172, 0.79345, 0.79313, and 0.78374, respectively, were the main residential satisfaction attributes that predict students’ satisfaction in public halls of residence in Takoradi Technical University. The inclusion of Owners’ maintenance culture in predicting students’ satisfaction in public halls of residence gave the study a more holistic approach. This study will inform management of Takoradi Technical University, and Technical universities in general about the attributes that holistically define students’ satisfaction in public halls of residence. Keywords: Technical University, Public, Hall, Satisfaction, Student

Solar PV rural electrification and energy poverty assessment in Ghana: A principal component analysis

The relationship between solar photovoltaic (PV) rural electrification and energy poverty was assessed using social, economic and environmental indicator-based questionnaires in 96 solar-electrified and 113 non-electrified households in rural Ghana. The purpose was to assess energy-poverty status of households with and without solar PV systems, and to determine the factors that explain energy-poverty in off-grid rural households. Principal component analysis (PCA) was used to construct energy-poverty index scores (EPIS). On the basis of the results of the EPIS, about 80% of the non-electrified households were assessed as relatively energy poor compared with only 10% of the solar-electrified households. Three significant indicators increased linearly with increasing EPIS and therefore explained the variation in EPIS. They are monthly savings on lighting (r2=0.214), number of children who can sit around lighting (r2=0.388) and amount paid to obtain lighting/electricity system (r2=0.261). On the contrary, EPIS decreased linearly with increasing monthly costs of kerosene, candles and dry-cell batteries. This indicates that increasing expenditure on kerosene, candles and dry-cell batteries is likely to affect household savings and investment in quality energy delivery systems that can increase EPIS. To improve EPIS, households should invest a bit more in reliable and quality energy delivery systems, which can help to improve their quality of life. The use of EPIS successfully demonstrated the difference in energy-poverty status between households with and without solar PV. This lays down a basis of understanding the relationship between solar PV rural electrification and energy poverty improvement in off-grid communities

Advantages and Limitations of Commercially Available Electrocuting Grids for Studying Mosquito Behaviour.

Mosquito feeding behaviour plays a major role in determining malaria transmission intensity and the impact of specific prevention measures. Human Landing Catch (HLC) is currently the only method that can directly and consistently measure the biting rates of anthropophagic mosquitoes, both indoors and outdoors. However, this method exposes the participant to mosquito-borne pathogens, therefore new exposure-free methods are needed to replace it. Commercially available electrocuting grids (EGs) were evaluated as an alternative to HLC using a Latin Square experimental design in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Both HLC and EGs were used to estimate the proportion of human exposure to mosquitoes occurring indoors (πi), as well as its two underlying parameters: the proportion of mosquitoes caught indoors (Pi) and the proportion of mosquitoes caught between the first and last hour when most people are indoors (Pfl). HLC and EGs methods accounted for 69% and 31% of the total number of female mosquitoes caught respectively and both methods caught more mosquitoes outdoors than indoors. Results from the gold standard HLC suggest that An. gambiae s.s. in Dar es Salaam is neither exophagic nor endophagic (Pi ≈ 0.5), whereas An. arabiensis is exophagic (Pi < < 0.5). Both species prefer to feed after 10 pm when most people are indoors (Pfl > >0.5). EGs yielded estimates of Pi for An. gambiae s.s., An. arabiensis and An. coustani, that were approximately equivalent to those with HLC but significantly underestimated Pfl for An. gambiae s.s. and An. coustani. The relative sampling sensitivity of EGs declined over the course of the night (p ≤ 0.001) for all mosquito taxa except An. arabiensis. Commercial EGs sample human-seeking mosquitoes with high sensitivity both indoors and outdoors and accurately measure the propensity of Anopheles malaria vectors to bite indoors rather than outdoors. However, further modifications are needed to stabilize sampling sensitivity over a full nocturnal cycle so that they can be used to survey patterns of human exposure to mosquitoes

Multidisciplinary approach to genomics research in Africa: the AfriCRAN model

This article is an outcome of the African Craniofacial Anomalies Research Network (AfriCRAN) Human Hereditary and Health (H3A) grant planning meeting in 2012 in Lagos, Nigeria. It describes the strengths of a multidisciplinary team approach to solving complex genetic traits in the craniofacial region. It also highlights the different components and argues for the composition of similar teams to fast track the discovery of disease genes, diagnostic tools, improved clinical treatment and ultimately prevention of diseases

Field validation of senesced banana leaf extracts for trapping banana weevils on smallholder banana/plantain farms

Palm wine alcohol extract of senesced banana leaf material, Musa spp., was tested for its efficacy in open field trapping of the banana weevil, Cosmopolites sordidus in Ghana from June to August 2015. Modified pitfall and bottle traps were baited with either individual treatments, that is palm alcohol extract, C. sordidus aggregation pheromone or pseudostem or with combinations of extract plus aggregation pheromone or extract plus pseudostem. The combination of extract plus aggregation pheromone was able to lure more weevils into traps compared with the respective individual lures. There was a 2.1‐fold increase in mean catch per week when the palm alcohol extract was used in combination with pheromone compared with using pheromone alone, and a corresponding 2.6‐fold increase when the extract was used with pseudostem in traps. There was no statistically significant interaction between the palm alcohol extract (presence or absence) and treatment (pheromone or pseudostem), but the best combination for maximal catches of adult banana weevils was a combination of palm alcohol extract with aggregation pheromone. Management of banana weevils with attractive banana leaf extract has important practical applications in parts of the world where other management options are too expensive or commercial treatments are in short supply, but where leaf material is cheap and readily available for local use by smallholder farmers

Novel <i>IRF6 </i>mutations in families with Van Der Woude syndrome and popliteal pterygium syndrome from sub-Saharan Africa

Orofacial clefts (OFC) are complex genetic traits that are often classified as syndromic or nonsyndromic clefts. Currently, there are over 500 types of syndromic clefts in the Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man (OMIM) database, of which Van der Woude syndrome (VWS) is one of the most common (accounting for 2% of all OFC). Popliteal pterygium syndrome (PPS) is considered to be a more severe form of VWS. Mutations in the IRF6 gene have been reported worldwide to cause VWS and PPS. Here, we report studies of families with VWS and PPS in sub-Saharan Africa. We screened the DNA of eight families with VWS and one family with PPS from Nigeria and Ethiopia by Sanger sequencing of the most commonly affected exons in IRF6 (exons 3, 4, 7, and 9). For the VWS families, we found a novel nonsense variant in exon 4 (p.Lys66X), a novel splice-site variant in exon 4 (p.Pro126Pro), a novel missense variant in exon 4 (p.Phe230Leu), a previously reported splice-site variant in exon 7 that changes the acceptor splice site, and a known missense variant in exon 7 (p.Leu251Pro). A previously known missense variant was found in exon 4 (p.Arg84His) in the PPS family. All the mutations segregate in the families. Our data confirm the presence of IRF6-related VWS and PPS in sub-Saharan Africa and highlights the importance of screening for novel mutations in known genes when studying diverse global populations. This is important for counseling and prenatal diagnosis for high-risk families

Phytochemical and in vitro antioxidant assessment of Yoyo bitters

In this paper, herbal bitters are widely used due to their numerous acclaimed health benefits in many Nigerian homes; however, many have not been subjected to scientific scrutiny. The aim of this study was to determine the phytochemical composition and antioxidant capacity of a non-alcoholic polyherbal formulation, Yoyo bitters, towards validating its broad pharmacological claims. The phytochemical components of Yoyo bitters were ascertained by phytochemical screening assays and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The antioxidant activity was investigated in vitro using 2,2-diphenyl-1-picryhydrazyl (DPPH) radical, hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) scavenging activity, total antioxidant capacity (TAC) and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assays. Qualitative phytochemical analysis of Yoyo bitters showed the presence of saponins, tannins, flavonoids, terpenoids, cardiac glycosides and anthocyanins. The total phenols, flavonoids, flavanols, tannins and carotenoids content were 14.741 ±0.64 mg GAE/ml, 0.152 ±0.01 mg RE/ml, 0.437 ±0.02 mg RE/ml, 0.368 ±0.04 mg TAE/ml and 0.016 ±0.00 mg CAE/ml respectively. GC-MS chromatogram revealed the presence of forty-three (43) phytochemical compounds with D-allose (41.81%), 1,6-anhydro-beta-D-glucofuranose (24.15%), 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (8.02%) and Z-6-pentadecen-1-ol acetate (3.50%) as the most abundant constituents. Yoyo bitters demonstrated effective antioxidant activity against DPPH and H2O2 with IC50 values of 0.492 mg/ml and 0.629 mg/ml respectively compared to ascorbic acid of 0.161 mg/ml and 0.130 mg/ml respectively. Total antioxidant capacity and ferric reducing antioxidant power of Yoyo bitters were 0.432 mg AAE/ml and 2.236 mg AAE/ml respectively. This study validates the antioxidant capacity of Yoyo bitters and provides chemical basis for its acclaimed pharmacological actions