1.0 Introduction
1.1 Background of the Study
This study is basically concerned with the role of relationship between political office holders and career officers in Owerri Municipal Council of Imo state. Local government administrator (or career officer) constitutes the machinery which propels or galvanizes the local government into initiation of its programmes and policies. Without the career officers, whatever policies or programmes the local government executive formulates aimed at achieving and improving the standard of living of the rural people will virtually come to naught.
In other words, local government career officers are indispensable for the achievement of the goal and objectives of the local government. The chairman and supervisory councilors who are political office holders' deals with policy matters.
They are concerned with the electoral mandate to meet the yeaning of the people on who they get into office, to achieve this objective they however, have to rely on the technical and administrative knowledge as well as support the career officers to translate most of their ambitions into reality.
They have the responsibility of taking decisions with regards to formulate policy. The administrators on the other hand, are responsible for implementing these policies. Both politicians and the career officers need each other to operate efficiently.
1.2 Statement of Problem
The conflict between the politicians and the career civil servants is not peculiar to the local government system. It is a wide spread phenomenon at all levels of government in Nigeria instances abounded where the politicians find themselves a little liked by the career civil servants advised them.
They are even there to prevent mistakes to which politicians are prone to by the nature of their office, on the other hand no matter how well qualified and experienced a civil servants may be in his job has not been elected to it by the elected representatives who must draw the lines on which government of the day functions.
The loyalty of the civil servants it to executes the primary problems of the study addressed therefore is what relationship exist between the career civil servant and the political office holders.
1.3 Objective of Study
It is anticipated that the findings of this study shall be useful in the following ways. The politicians will sustain the fact that career civil officers are experienced to act as achievers. The political office holders will fully appreciate the fact that good governance depends on professional and technical advice in the formulation and execution of public business.
- Identifying the roles of a political office holder and the career civil servants.
- The findings of this study will identify factors that enhance harmonious relationship between the political office holders and career civil servants within the local government system.
1.4 Research Findings
- Dose career civil servants regard themselves a professional planner?
- Can politicians be regarded as decision makers?
- Is their mutual disrespect for the suspension of another?
- Can harmonious relationship exist where there is no proper accountability?
- Is it proper for politicians to expect absolute loyalty even in the face of irregularities?
1.5 Significance of Study
This enables us to know if the political office holders are doing their duty to ensure that the populace enjoyed their dividends of democracy. To know the level of contribution that the career civil servants are putting into to ensure the development of the society.
The study tries to bring the civil servants and the politicians together and shows the supremacy of the power which exist between the politicians over the career civil servants.
1.6 Scope of the Study
This study will no doubt be focused on the relationship between the career civil servants and politicians in Owerri Municipal.
1.7 Limitation of Study
The following constituted considerable limitation to the extent and dept to which the study would have constituted irregular attendance at work by politicians and key career officer made planning and execution of the research within the anticipated plan schedule difficult.
These problems were accentuated by protracted strike actions by the career officers making it quite uneasy for the researcher to reach all the subjects that constituted part of the sample for study.
1.8 Definition of Terms
The researcher deem it necessary to explain some words used in the course of this research. This is geared towards ensuring charring and course approach of this study some of the terms include:
Administrator:
One who accepts responsibilities and try to execute it within the available human, material and financial resources is called an administrator.
Administration:
This is the process of harmonizing and coordinating the activities of two or more people to accomplish a goal.
Civil Service:
Civil service as a service of federation of state in civil capacity as state in attainable.
Hierarchy:
How directives and instructions flow on organization. It refers to the line of authority that exist in an organization from the super-ordinary to the sub-ordinate.
Local Government:
Local government is the third tire of government. It is the government at the grass root.
Politicians:
A group of people who have the same political ideology whose aim is to control the machinery of the state.
Political Office Holders:
Those that are elected by the electorates to represent them at the national, state and local level.
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