FLOW OF FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY AMONG LAYERS OF GOVERNMENT: A CASE OF NIGERIA

The issue of fiscal federalism has for quite some time engaged the attention of scholars and policy makers in contemporary Nigeria. Several arguments have been put forward on the economic and political desirability for the practice of fiscal federalism in a country. While the political arguments are largely based on the heterogeneous characteristics of the different regions making up the country, the economic justification is usually based on the need to promote efficiency in the use of national resources. This paper examines the effect of fiscal decentralization on macroeconomic performance in Nigeria. The study employs three measures of fiscal decentralization namely revenue measure, expenditure measure and simultaneity measure to determine the extent, and the impact of fiscal decentralization on macroeconomic performance over the period 1980 to 2010. The overall objective of this study is to analyze the empirical effects of fiscal decentralization on some selected indicators of macroeconomic performance in Nigeria. The indicators include: economic growth, inflation rate, interest rate, and exchange in Nigeria. The Vector Autoregressive (VAR) estimator with lagged decentralization variables was employed using the E-views, version 7.0 to provide analytical support. The empirical findings are quite informative and offer evidence that the central objective of this study has been empirically investigated. There is, indeed, a connection between fiscal federalism and macroeconomic performance in Nigeria over the study period. The study suggests that faster economic growth may constitute additional benefit of fiscal decentralization beyond those already well recognized. This finding conforms to a strand of the literature that establishes links between fiscal decentralization, public sector efficiency and macroeconomic stability

Influence of nitrogen fertilizer micro-dosing on phenolic content, antioxidant, and anticholinesterase properties of aqueous extracts of three tropical leafy vegetables

This work was carried out with the aid of a grant from Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC), and with financial support from the Government of Canada, provided through Global Affairs Canada (GAC)Substituting synthetic antioxidant food additives with naturally occurring plant antioxidants could promote the production of safer food systems. The combined use of organic manure with urea fertilizer led to enhanced antioxidant and anti-AChE activities of the leaf polyphenolic extracts. This detailed paper demonstrates how vegetable leaf polyphenolic compounds show free radical scavenging and other antioxidant properties that are comparable to those of butylated hydroxytoluene, a synthetic antioxidant agent. Results indicate that the vegetable leaf extracts are potential agents that can be used both as effective food preservatives and bioactive agents against neurodegenerative diseases

Effect of Administration of Root Ethanolic Extract of Aristolochia Ringens on the Liver Functional Indices of Male Wistar Rats

Background: The alcoholic decoction of root ethanolic extract of Aristolochia ringens is taken orally to treat various ailments in South-west Nigeria without prior knowledge of its potential toxic effect. Therefore, this study aimed at assessing the toxicity potentials of root ethanolic extract of A. ringens on functional indices and histology of the liver. Methods: Twenty male rats were randomized into four groups of five animals each. Group A (control) received 0.5 ml of distilled water, group B, C and D received 75, 150 and 300 mg/kg b. wt. of the extract respectively. The administration was done orally and lasted for fourteen days. Results: The extract significantly reduced the activities of alkaline phosphatase (ALP), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), gamma glutamyl transferase (GGT) as well as reduction in the level of serum albumin and direct bilirubin (P<0.05) while the level of total bilirubin increased. The activities of these enzymes i.e. ALP, ALT and AST increased in the serum at all the doses investigated. Conclusion: Ethanolic extract from A. ringens root may not be completely safe when administered repeatedly

Aqueous Leaf Extract of Heliotropium Indicum Ameliorates Hyperglycaemia-Induced Tissue Complications in Albino Rats

Background: Heliotropium indicum is used by traditional medical practitioners in North Central Nigeria for the management of ailments including diabetes. However, the folkloric use of H. indicum as antidiabetic has been asserted, but its roles on the hyperglycemia-induced organ-specific complications are not yet scientifically proven. Thus, ameliorative effect of aqueous leaf extract of H. indicum on selected toxicological parameters in hyperglycaemic rats was investigated in this study. Methods: Twenty-five rats were randomized into five groups. The study was carried out at the Animal Holding Unit, Biochemistry Department, University of Ilorin in 2013. Four groups were intraperitoneally administered singly with 150 mg/kg b.wt of alloxan to induce hyperglycemia. The normal control (NC) and hyperglycaemic control (HC) groups were administered 1 ml distilled water, while the reference group (HR) were administered 14.2 mg/kg b.wt of metformin and the test groups, H30 and H75 were administered 30 and 75 mg/kg b.wt, the extract respectively for fourteen days. Results: The significantly increased (P<0.05) serum concentrations of tissue membrane bound enzymes (ALT, AST, ACP and ALP), direct and total bilirubin, urea and creatinine in HC indicating compromised tissue structures and functions in HC were attenuated. The significantly (P<0.05) reduced serum total protein, globulin and albumin in HC were significantly increased by both doses of the extract. The ameliorative role of the extract at the test doses was supported by the histological assessment of liver and kidney of the animals. Conclusion: Aqueous leaf extract of H. indicum can be explored at the ethnobotanical dose of 30 and 75 mg/kg b.wt on the management of some of the tissue-specific disarrays associated with diabetes

Effects of drying methods on compositional characterization and functional characteristics of

The composition of Blighia sapida fruits is reported to differ based on its origin, variety, and preservation technique. In this study, the effect of drying method on the composition as well as the antioxidant activity of oven-dried and sun-dried B. sapida aril flour and oil were examined using standard procedures. Sun-dried B. sapida aril flour had significantly higher protein and fat content compared to the oven-dried flour. In addition, sun-dried B. sapida aril flour contained a more diverse phytochemical profile compared to the oven-dried flour. However, oven-dried B. sapida aril oil (ODAO) showed a higher percentage of unsaturated fatty acids compared to oil from the sun-dried B. sapida flour (SDAO). On the other hand, SDAO showed significantly higher DPPH scavenging and nitric oxide inhibitory activities compared to ODAO. Based on these findings, sun-drying is recommended for both nutritional purposes and other health-promoting usage such as antioxidant, over oven-drying

Monitoring and predicting the influences of land use/land cover change on cropland characteristics and drought severity using remote sensing techniques

The Federal University of Technology at Akure (FUTA) in Nigeria is experiencing ongoing development that is leading to the replacement of agricultural and forestry land cover types. This study aimed to assess and predict changes in land use/land cover (LULC) types and their impact on crop characteristics in 17 plots of FUTA from 1991 to 2031. Crop characteristics were evaluated using the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), normalized difference water index (NDWI), normalized difference moisture index (NDMI), vegetation condition index (VCI), watershed delineation, and spectral characteristics using Landsat imageries. The land change modeler in TerraSet software was used to predict future LULC scenarios. Results showed an increase in built-up areas (15%) and bare land areas (14%), but a reduction of 19% in light vegetation cover from 1991 to 2021. The predicted LULC map illustrated a decrease in light vegetation area (11%) and an increase in built-up area (19%) from 1991 to 2031. NDVI values denoting vegetation health and coverage extent, and NDWI &amp; NDMI values indicating water stress in vegetation and soil showed that palm tree (Plot 1) had the highest average indices values (0.31, 0.34, and 0.06, respectively), while mixed cropping of cassava, cashew, and potatoes (Plot 6) had the lowest average indices values (0.23, 0.28, and −0.029 respectively). This indicates that Plot 1 (palm tree) had better vegetation health with higher green canopy coverage and lower water stress in vegetation and soil compared to Plot 6 (cassava, cashew, and mixed potato vegetation). Drought analysis (VCI) showed that light drought areas became severe drought areas during 2001–2021 in Plots 4 and 6. The reduction of green cover and growing built-up areas accelerated the increase in drought severity. This study advocates for sustainable land use management to manage water stress and drought at the field level