Policy Brief: Governance and Service Provision in Nigeria’s Wholesale Markets: Implications for Food Safety
DOWNLOADDecember 9, 2024 - Danielle Resnick, Lenis Saweda O. Liverpool-Tasie, Aditi Chugh
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EmailThis paper explores how governance affects service provision in Nigeria's wholesale markets, focusing on implications for food safety. Using data from 299 markets across eight Nigerian states, it evaluates the influence of governance structures, including elected chairpersons and Local Government Area (LGA) offices, on essential services such as water access, waste collection, toilet facilities, electricity, and market cleaning.
Key Findings:
- Markets with elected chairpersons report better waste collection and daily cleaning, attributed to increased accountability.
- Infrastructure improvements, like flush toilets and electricity, are more common in markets with LGA offices, reflecting the importance of authority.
- Rural markets and those under caretaker governments show lower service provision, highlighting governance challenges.
- Payment of fees to LGAs does not correlate with better services, likely due to limited reinvestment of revenues.
Recommendations:
- Strengthen governance structures, ensuring a balance of accountability and authority.
- Promote regular elections for market leaders to enhance service provision.
- Increase the presence and capacity of LGA offices in markets to support infrastructure improvements.
- Enhance transparency and efficiency in the utilization of market revenues.
- Focus on rural markets and those under caretaker governments to address service disparities.
Conclusion:
The study emphasizes the need for coordinated governance and targeted interventions to improve service provision in wholesale markets, ensuring safer food environments for Nigeria's population.
