African Journal of Political Science

African Journal of Political Science ISSN 3461-2165 Vol. 10 (8), pp. 001-008, August, 2016. © International Scholars Journals

Full Length Research Paper

Ethics and accountability in Nigeria’s public service: An historical overview

Agara Tunde¹ and Olarinmoye omobolaji²*

¹Department of Political Science and Public Administration Igbinedion University, Okada, Benin, Nigeria.

²Council for the Development of Social Science Research, CODESRIA, Dakar.

Accepted 26 May, 2018

Abstract

This paper seeks to assess the ethical environment within which the public service in Nigeria has operated since independence through a focus on accountability and control measures specifically designed to guard against abuse and misuse of bureaucratic power. It argues that these measures have failed to provide the service with the necessary ethical environment in the post -independence period due to deliberate frustration by civil servants and the government hence resulting in unethical conducts and unbridled corruption in the public bureaucracy.