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17 Pub. Admin. & Reg'l Stud. 7 (2024)

handle is hein.journals/pcanadrls17 and id is 1 raw text is: Public Administration & Regional Studies GOVERNANCE DEFICIT, PUBLIC POLICY, AND THE CHALLENGES OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION IN NIGERIA Adeleke ADEGBAMI* Abstract To achieve the quality of governance, there must be synergy between the government and its civil service. The former will be making policies and the latter will interpret them for implementation. However, there has been agap between policy-making and policy implementation, which has continued to culminate in policy summersault, hence the deficit in governance. Given the foregoing, the study examines the place of civil servants in policy formulation and implementation; analyses the nexus between public policy and quality of governance, and identifies challenges hindering civil servants from effectively implementing government policies. The study relies on the authors' observation of governance events in Nigeria, and secondary data including textbooks, journals, official government documents, newspapers, and internet sources. The study data were analyzed using content analysis. On the place of civil servants in policy formulation and implementation, the study showed that civil servants provide policy advisory roles; give rational solutions to policy problems; offer advice to policymakers, and mediate between different interest groups and politicians. Concerning the nexus between policy-making and the quality of governance, the study revealed that good policies propel the quality of governance, as such, they help make the governance system more accountable and reasonable for the citizens. The study identified the challenges impeding the civil service from effectively implementing governmental policies including the non/low involvement of the civil servants in the policy planning process; the practice of making gains from the budget for social services; over-ambitious public policies and programmes; and inadequate/insufficient resources, among others. The study concluded that, as far, as the government and the civil service are not on the same page, concerning policy-making and policy implementation, the governance deficit will continue to subsist. Keywords: Governance Deficit; Public Administration; Civil Service, Institutionalised Corruption; and Accountability * Senior Lecturer, PhD, Department of Public Administration, Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye, Nigeria, Corresponding author: adeleke.adegbami@oouagoiwoye.edu.ng. Copyight: © 20 by the authors. Open access publication under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) 7 Vol. 17, No. 1/2024