GOOD GOVERNANCE IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR OF NIGERIA (A STUDY OF THE NIGERIAN PUBLIC SERVICE)

INTRODUCTION Nigerian government have been trying to better the lives of their citizens as well as narrow the gap between the nation and the advance nations of the world. The most popular means of doing that is through formulation and execution of developmental policies in such areas as economic, political, educational, social, agricultural, etc which differ from one regime to another, sometimes with certain degree of continuity while sometimes without. The adoption of those development policies have become a political contest and any new regime which fails to come up with its own strategy will be assumed by most Nigerians as lacking national focus. As a result, any programme that is met by an incoming government will be replaced with another brand new one.       
DEFINITION OF TERMS ‘Governance’ is the exercise of power or authority – political, economic, administrative or otherwise – to manage a country's resources and affairs. It comprises the mechanisms, processes and institutions through which citizens and groups articulate their interests, exercise their legal rights, meet their obligations and mediate their differences. Good governance has long been a topic of discussion in the international arena, and particularly in the field of development assistance. Indeed, good governance is pivotal to the development process. Good governance is an indeterminate term used in international development literature to describe how public institutions conduct public affairs and manage public resources. Governance is “the process of decision-making and the process by which decisions are implemented (or not implemented)” The term governance can apply to corporate, international, national, local governance or to the interactions between other sectors of society.
The concept of "good governance" often emerges as a model to compare ineffective economies or political bodies with viable economies and political bodies. The concept centres around the responsibility of governments and governing bodies to meet the needs of the masses as opposed to select groups in society. Good governance can also be described by way and manner  in which a country or organization is run, administered or governed. The process involves the question of right procedures followed, the quality and process of the decision making, and above all, how transparent the operative system of the government is (World Bank 2009).