E-Governance and Service Delivery in the Nigerian Civil Service: An Assessment of the Akwa Ibom State Civil Service

This study examined e-administration and service delivery in the Akwa Ibom State Civil Service, focusing on the electronic payroll system and digitization of official records. The study was motivated by persistent administrative challenges, including ghost workers, payroll irregularities, delays in information retrieval, poor record management, and inefficiencies associated with manual administrative processes. The study was anchored on the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), which emphasized perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use as determinants of technology acceptance. A survey research design was adopted. The study focused on staff of the Akwa Ibom State Ministries of Finance and Education, with a population of 853 employees. A sample of 265 respondents was selected using stratified, purposive, and simple random sampling techniques. Data were collected through a structured four-point Likert-scale questionnaire. The instrument was validated by experts, while a pilot test involving 30 respondents produced a Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of 0.906. Data were analyzed using Pearson Product Moment Correlation, with hypotheses tested at the 0.05 level of significance. The findings revealed a weak negative relationship between the electronic payroll system and reduction of ghost workers (r = −0.36), indicating limited impact on payroll irregularities. Digitization of official records also showed a weak positive relationship with information management (r = 0.16), suggesting modest improvements in record storage, retrieval, preservation, and accessibility. The study concluded that e-administration had contributed to administrative modernization but remained constrained by inadequate infrastructure, limited staff capacity, incomplete data integration, and implementation challenges. Based on the findings, the study recommended among others for stronger system integration, regular audits, improved ICT infrastructure, and continuous staff training to enhance e-administration and service delivery.