Public Service Delivery and Administrative Efficiency in Nigeria: Challenges, Reforms and the Pathway to Sustainable Governance

Administrative efficiency remains a critical determinant of effective public service delivery and sustainable governance in developing countries. In Nigeria, despite successive public sector reforms aimed at enhancing efficiency, transparency and accountability, the quality of public service delivery continues to attract widespread criticism. Bureaucratic bottlenecks, weak institutional capacity, political interference, corruption, inadequate digital infrastructure and poor accountability mechanisms have constrained the ability of public institutions to meet citizens' expectations. This paper qualitatively examines the nexus between administrative efficiency and public service delivery in Nigeria. Drawing on New Public Management (NPM) Theory and Governance Theory, the paper synthesises evidence from scholarly literature, government reports and policy documents to identify the major institutional factors influencing service delivery across public institutions. The findings indicate that administrative inefficiency is reflected in prolonged bureaucratic procedures, weak performance management systems, poor coordination among government agencies, inadequate staff motivation and limited citizen participation in governance processes. Recent initiatives such as digital governance, the Treasury Single Account (TSA), the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS), the Government Integrated Financial Management Information System (GIFMIS), the Open Government Partnership (OGP) and the SERVICOM initiative have improved transparency and accountability but have achieved only modest gains due to implementation gaps and institutional resistance. The paper argues that sustainable improvements in service delivery require comprehensive civil service reforms anchored on digital transformation, merit-based recruitment, performance-based management, institutional accountability, citizen-centred governance and continuous capacity development. The study contributes to the discourse on public administration by proposing an integrated framework for improving administrative efficiency in Nigeria's public sector.