Role of Public Administration in Enhancing Democratic Principles in Otukpo Local Government Area of Benue State, Nigeria

This study examined the role of public administration in enhancing democratic principles in Otukpo Local Government Area. A survey research design was adopted for the study. The population comprised 28 senior and middle-level administrative staff of the Otukpo Local Government Council, from which 18 respondents were selected using stratified random sampling techniques. Three research questions and three null hypotheses guided the study. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire titled Role of Public Administration in Enhancing Democratic Principles Questionnaire (RPEDPQ). The instrument was validated by experts in Public Administration and Measurement and Evaluation, while reliability was established using Cronbach’s alpha, which yielded a coefficient of 0.81, indicating high internal consistency. Descriptive statistics such as mean and standard deviation were used to answer the research questions, while Pearson Product–Moment Correlation (PPMC) was used to test the hypotheses at the 0.05 level of significance. The findings revealed that effective public administration significantly promotes transparency and accountability through practices such as open decision-making, information disclosure, and citizen participation, thereby strengthening democratic principles. However, challenges including corruption, political interference, inadequate funding, weak administrative structures, and poor policy implementation were found to hinder effective democratic governance at the grassroots. The study further established that strategies such as adequate funding, administrative reforms, staff training, transparency mechanisms, and strengthened monitoring institutions can improve the role of public administration in promoting accountability, participation, and good governance. The study recommended institutionalizing open governance practices and encouraging active citizen participation to enhance democratic governance in the local government area.