Public Sector Reforms in Nigeria: A Critical Review

Abstract

It is examined here the economic recession of the 1980s which was rooted in the collapse of the oil prices on the international market and the over bloated and inefficient public sector in Nigeria. The inevitability of public sector reforms was occasioned by the recession in order to boost growth of the economy and improve service delivery. Documentary evidence provided the relevant data that institutional theoretical framing undergirded analysis in the study. Series of measures in the context of public sector reform since the 1980s have culminated in the broad based reforms of the early 2000s. The reforms were non-sequential and haphazard and achieved minimally in the area of downsizing. Privatization achieved the curb on waste but failed to improve service delivery. The reforms received scant public support and the lack of political will ensure non commitment to implementation. To achieve sustainable growth and enhanced service delivery, recruitment in the public sector must return to merit based procedures to guarantee quality of personnel in the national bureaucracy.