Federalism and Planning in Nigeria

Abstract

The viewpoint often heard among students of development administration is that federalism is in conflict with national development planning; yet little is available by a way of empirical studies to demonstrate the influence of one on the other. This study was therefore undertaken to examine Nigeria’s planning experience against the background of its federal system of government. The study employed documentary sources and personal interviews for data collection. It was revealed among others, that Nigeria has not achieved a fully integrated national development planning because of its federal arrangement. It was therefore recommended that the intergovernmental planning institutions should be strengthened while the National Bureau of Statistics should be equipped with modern techniques for data collection, processing, storage and retrieval.