Authors : Donald Emayomi

Volume/Issue : Volume 11 - 2026, Issue 5 - May

Google Scholar : https://tinyurl.com/3ucrwut9

Scribd : https://tinyurl.com/yu3czx9e

DOI : https://doi.org/10.38124/ijisrt/26May2074

Note : A published paper may take 4-5 working days from the publication date to appear in PlumX Metrics, Semantic Scholar, and ResearchGate.

Abstract : This study focuses on public service delivery in Tsekelewu and Opuama. These bstudy communities are riverine settlements in Warri North Local Government Area of Delta State, Nigeria. This study uses a public administration lens and combines both primary and secondary data. For the primary data 64 questionnaires were administered among residents of the two communities, while secondary data were based on academic and institutional sources on governance, infrastructure and development administration in the Niger Delta. The findings of this study show that both communities possess educational and health facilities, but these facilities remain inadequate in staffing, maintenance, equipment, accessibility, and operational efficiency. The settlement of Opuama has both a government health centre and an oil company-supported cottage hospital, yet residents still travel to Gbokoda, Sapele, and Koko for advanced medical treatment and emergencies. The communities are accessible mainly through speedboats and canoes, and internal movement depends partly on concrete walkways and wooden bridges. Amenity of electricity is supplied largely through diesel-powered generators supported by oil companies because the communities are not connected to the national grid. The study argues that the major governance challenge is not simply the absence of infrastructure but the weakness of institutional maintenance, staffing, coordination, and sustainable planning. The article recommends participatory governance, improved staffing, sustainable infrastructure management, and stronger intergovernmental coordination for riverine development.

References :

1. Akinola, S. R. (2007). Coping with infrastructural deprivation through collective action among rural people in Nigeria. Nordic Journal of African Studies, 16(1), 30–46.
2. Denhardt, J. V., & Denhardt, R. B. (2015). The new public service: Serving, not steering (4th ed.). Routledge.
3. Ikelegbe, A. (2005). The economy of conflict in the oil rich Niger Delta region of Nigeria. Nordic Journal of African Studies, 14(2), 208–234.
4. Ostrom, E. (1990). Governing the commons: The evolution of institutions for collective action. Cambridge University Press.
5. Rondinelli, D. A. (1981). Government decentralization in comparative perspective: Theory and practice in developing countries. International Review of Administrative Sciences, 47(2), 133–145.
6. United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). (2006). Niger Delta human development report. Abuja: UNDP Nigeria.