ABSTRACT

This dissertation gives an appraisal of the legal regime for combating corrupt practices in the public service of the federation. The objectives of the study are to examine the legal regime for combating corrupt practices in the public service of the Federation. Highlight the merits, demerits, challenges and to proffer some recommendations.

The main problem with the legal regime to combat corruption in the public service is lack of focus on the issues that cause corruption therefore result in failure to apply the appropriate remedies to tackle corruption. Another key challenge affecting the fight against corruption in Nigeria is the location of anti-corruption functions within multiple and operationally diverse institutions, which despite their closely related and even overlapping mandates have limited interface and cooperation and seldom coordinate policies and operations. Other factors affecting the fight against corruption are lack of funding, and bureaucracy.

Furthermore, the immunity clause under section 308 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria precluding prosecution against some members of the public, the system to check those in authority is ineffective to supervise and be a motivating factor for individuals to be honest in their work and the constitutional safeguard for presidential pardon in insufficient to restrict the abuse of the power by the president.

Despite all efforts, Nigeria continues to fall short of the standards and requirements of an effective anti-corruption regime as embodied in regional and global anti-corruption conventions.

It is observed that the legal regime to fight corruption have failed to curb corruption in the public sector. Unfortunately, the trend is that corruption is exacerbating with the passage of time

       ORGANIZATIONAL LAYOUT

The dissertation is divided into five chapters. Chapter one provides the general background of the study highlighting the introduction of the topic, statement ofUnder it, the Penal and Criminal Codes will be briefly discussed. Also, Auditor General of the Federation, Public Procurement Act and Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiatives and presidential pardon will be discussed so as to show the loopholes that prevents such legal framework from curbing corruption in the public service.

Chapter four examines the institutional framework for combating corruption in Nigeria. Under it, judiciary, ICPC, EFCC and the Nigerian Police and Public Complaints Commission will be discussed so as to show the effectiveness and otherwise of such institutions to curb corruption.

Chapter five provides the summary, conclusion, finding of the study, and recommendations to address the issues of corruption in the public service.

CRITICAL APPRAISAL OF TA’AZIR PUNISHMENTS UNDER THE KATSINA STATE SHARI’A PENAL CODE LAW, 2001

Abstract:

The topic “Critical Appraisal of Ta’azir Punishments under the Katsina State Shari’a Penal Code Law, 2001” is considered a topic worth writing-on, especially with the implementation of Shari’a in most of the Northern States and Katsina State in particular. For convenience and clarity, the research work has been divided into chapters; touching on the historical background of Shari’a implementation in Katsina State. It has been pointed out in the work that even before the advent of the colonial period, people in Northern Nigeria have their own legal system based on the Qur’an, Sunnah of the Prophet (SAW), Ijma’s and Qiyas; some aspect of which were partially dislodged by the colonial masters. The work also attempted to distinguish between Ta’azir offences and their punishments related to Hadd offences, thereby citing examples of some Ta’azir offences as reflected in the Shari’a Penal Code Law, 2001 of Katsina State. A highlight was made on the re-adoption of Shari’a Legal System in Katsina State which was mainly due to the yearning of the populace living in the State.

AN ASSESSMENT OF USER SATISFACTION WITHPUBLIC PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP (PPP) PROJECTS IN SELECTEDUNIVERSITY TEACHING HOSPITALS

Abstract:

Government at all levels are forced to prioritise and restrict public expenditures due to budget deficits and the inefficient management of large infrastructure projects. Due to the shortage of resources for healthcare delivery leading to decline in the quality of care, there is considerable interest in PPP initiatives for the provision of finance and management of health care to ordinary people. The PPP option due to its complexities has led tosome projects failureleading to wastage of huge resources andtime. Studies have shown that majority of these project failures are as a result of public opposition leading to outright cancellation of the projects. Due to the lack of empirical studies on user satisfaction with PPP projects in Nigeria,this study assessed the satisfaction ofusers ofPPP projects from both employees and patients’perspectivesof two university teaching hospitals in Nigeria. A total of 580 questionnaires were distributed to Employees and Patients of University College Hospital, Ibadan (Oyo state) and Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Lagos (Lagos state). The data received from these respondents were analysed using both descriptive and inferential statistics with the aid of SPSS to determine their levelsof satisfaction with the facilities and services provided. It was observed that the patients were more satisfied with the projects than the employees. The patients rated the staff members the highest implying that they were quite confident in the healthcareproviders’ reliability and expertise. The employees were most satisfied with the reliability of the facilities in maintaining confidentiality.The study also observed that there is a positive significant relationship between quality parameters andoverall satisfaction.The study therefore concluded that necessary improvement adjustments need to be done in all areas of quality performance especially the facilities to increase the satisfaction of the users of these projects.