PROBLEMS OF DEVELOPMENT POLICY-MAKING AND IMPLEMENTATION IN OBUDU LOCAL OVERNMENT AREA OF CROSS RIVER STATE

This study is aimed at identifying the problems of development-policy making in Obudu local government area of Cross River state. The theoretical framework adopted in this study is the planning theory propounded by Fainstein (2000). This research adopted the survey method given the nature of data. The population of the study consists of the staff of Obudu local government of Cross River state which is one hundred and eight seven (187) respondents. The sample technique adopted in the study is the simple random sampling technique. Data was analyzed using tables and frequencies to analyze the demographic characteristics of the respondents and Chi-Square (X2) was used to test the hypotheses. Findings of the study reveal that there are problems affecting development policy making and implementation in Obudu local government area of Cross River state namely; there is lack of platform for periodic interaction between political actors and citizens in the local council to ascertain the needs of the citizenry, Bureaucratic ineffectiveness and lack of development planning, second; development policy making and its implementation is of paramount importance in the Obudu local government area, third, there are significant ideas from the grassroots that could help the local government bureaucracy in Obudu to formulate policies for development. It is therefore the recommendation of this study that Obudu local government officials should engage rural development experts to assist them with problems of development-policy making. This will go a long way in facilitating growth and development in the area.