University Don, Prof. Charles pushes for new public management in governance at all levels
By Roseline Okafor, Nasarawawa
Charles Nwekeaku, professor of new public management from Nasarawa State University Keffi’s Faculty of Public Administration, advocates for the application of the new public management system at all levels of governance for efficient service delivery.
The inaugural lecture, “New Public Management, National Development and Transformation in a Globalized World”, took place at the Assembly Hall of the University in Keffi on Wednesday.
According to him, a country’s survival relies on its capacity to adopt new public management; therefore, governments at all levels must consider this new administrative approach to attain sustainable development across all public offices.
The keynote speaker emphasized that traditional public administration, characterized by rigid hierarchies, excessive control mechanisms, and a dearth of creativity, is ill-equipped to drive meaningful progress in national development initiatives in most developing economies.
He advised the relevant authorities to prioritize competence and credibility when selecting individuals for public offices, disregarding their ethnic or religious backgrounds, as this approach would yield optimal results.
Global Times Nigeria reports that the New public management is regarded as an approach that endeavours to build an administration based on flexibility, transparency, accountability, minimal government involvement, decentralization, market-oriented public services, and privatization.
In her address, Prof. Sa’adatu Hassan Liman, the Vice Chancellor of the University, pointed out that the country’s growth over the years has not been accompanied by corresponding development. She believes that the root cause of this problem lies in the country’s ongoing reliance on traditional public management procedures, which she argued need to be improved.
In their goodwill messages, the Inegbese of Oligbo Kingdom, and Fellow of the United Nations, Professor Echefuna Rotimi Gabriel Onyebeadi, and Major General John Nwaoga, among others, emphasized the need for the Nigerian government to empower its citizens, noting that Nigeria’s development as a nation must be internally driven rather than externally propelled.
The event’s highlight was the presentation of a plaque to the inaugural lecturer as a mark of honor by the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Sa’adatu Hassan Liman.
