ISSUES OF POLITICAL INTERFERENCE ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT IN NIGERIA

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the political interference on personnel management of local governments in Nigeria. Such interference has led to the politicization of appointments, placement, promotions, and general human resource management at the local government, and this militates against the effective performance of personnel functions. A quantitative research was conducted with 360 questionnaires distributed to the staff of Nkanu-West Local Government Area of Enugu State and 336 were returned representing a 93 percent return rate. The frequency table and mean were the statistical measures employed for the data analysis. The findings revealed that the constitutional contradiction tends to provide the impetus for unscrupulous state officials to nurse the excessive desire for hedging in the local government personnel management. The findings also revealed that political interference denies local governments administrative autonomy over their personnel management. The outcome of this will enable the population of Nkanu-West to have better understandings on why Nkanu-West local government faces several personnel problems, which militate against the effective performance of their functions.