HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT AND LABOUR PRODUCTIVITY IN LOCAL GOVERNMENT COUNCILS

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Title Page — — — — — — — — — — — i
Certification — — — — — — — — — — ii
Restrictive Publication notice — — — — — — — — iii
Dedication — — — — — — — — — — iv
Acknowledgment — — — — — — — — — — v
Table of contents — — — — — — — — — — vi
List of Abbreviations — — — — — — — — — — x
List of Tables — — — — — — — — — — — xi
List of figures — — — — — — — — — — xii
List of Appendices — — — — — — — — — — xii
Abstract — — — — — — — — — — — xiv

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the Study– — — — — — — — 1
1.2 Statement of the Problem — — — — — — — 3
1.3 Research Questions– — — — — — — — — 5
1.4 Aim and Objectives of the Study– — — — — — — 6
1.4.1 Aim of the study — — — — — — — — — 6
1.4.2 Objectives of the study — — — — — — — — 6
1.5 Scope of the study — — — — — — — — — 7
1.6 Limitation of the study — — — — — — — — 7
1.7 Significance and Policy Relevance of the study — — — — 8
1.8 Conceptual clarifications — — — — — — — — 9
1.8.1 Local Government Council — — — — — — — 9
1.8.2 Human Resource Management — — — — — — — 9
1.8.3 Labour Productivity– — — — — — — — — 10
1.8.4 Performance Management– — — — — — — — 10
1.9 Theoretical Framework — — — — — — — — 11
1.10 Methodology– — — — — — — — — — 13
1.11 Organisation of the study– — — — — — — — 16
CHAPTER TWO – LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 Preamble– — — — — — — — — — — 17
2.2 General Conceptual Review– — — — — — — — 17
2.3 Specific Review– — — — — — — — — — 32
2.4 Gap in literature– — — — — — — — — — 39
CHAPTER THREE – HISTORICAL AND POLICY CONTEXT OF HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT AND LABOUR PRODUCTIVITY IN LOCAL GOVERNMENT COUNCILS OF AKWA IBOM STATE
3.1 Preamble– — — — — — — — — — — 40
3.2 Historical overview of Human Resource Management– — — — 40
3.3 Evolution of Local Government Administration in Nigeria– — — 43
3.3.1 Native Administration– — — — — — — — — 44
3.3.2 The 1966 Local Government Reform– — — — — — 45
3.3.3 The 1976 Local Government Reforms– — — — — — 47
3.3.4 Local Government in the Second Republic (1979-1983)– — — 49
3.3.5 Local Government Autonomy under Buhari /Regime– — — — 50
3.3.6 Charter of Local Autonomy, 1985 — — — — — — — 51
3.3.7 Local Government Reform of 1988– — — — — — — 51
3.3.8 The 1991Reforms– — — — — — — — — 53
3.3.9 Additional Local Government Reforms 1995 – 2004– — — — 53
3.3.10 Other Local Government Review– — — — — — — 54
3.4 Historical Antecedent of Akwa Ibom State and Local Government Administration — — — — — — — — — — 55
3.4.1 Implication of Human Resource Management in Local Government — 57
3.4.2 Local Government Administration in Akwa Ibom State– — — — 58
3.4.3 Functions of Local Government Service Commission– — — — 59
3.4.4 Directorates in the Commission– — — — — — — 60
3.4.5 Legal Frameworks and Regulations Guiding the Commission– — — 62
3.4.6 Funding of the Akwa Ibom State Local Government Service Commission– 62
3.4.7 Meetings of the Commission– — — — — — — — 63
3.4.8 Strategies for improving human resource management and productivity– 64
3.4.9 Staff Development and Training in the Local Government System– — 65
CHAPTER FOUR – ASSESSMENT OF HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENTAND LABOUR PRODUCTIVITY IN LOCAL GOVERNMENT COUNCILS IN AKWA IBOM STATE
4.1 Preamble– — — — — — — — — — — 67
4.2 Analysis of Response Rate– — — — — — — — 67
4.3 Demographic information– — — — — — — — 68
4.4 Analysis of Field Data– — — — — — — — — 70
4.4.1 Current State of Human Resource Management in the Local Government Councils of Akwa Ibom State within the context of staff recruitment– — 70
4.4.2 Impact of Human Resource Management on Productivity of the local Government Councils in Akwa Ibom State– — — — — — 74
4.4.3 Challenge of Human Resource Management for the enhancement of productivity in the Local Government Councils of Akwa Ibom State. —- 80
4.4.4 Policy measures to improve workforce performance– — — — 81
4.5 Discussion of Findings– — — — — — — — — 82
4.6 Summary of key Findings– — — — — — — — 89
CHAPTER FIVE – CONCLUSION, RECOMMENDATIONS AND IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGIES
5.1 Preamble– — — — — — — — — — — 91
5.1.1 Conclusion — — — — — — — — — — 91
5.2 Recommendations and Implementation Strategies– — — — 93
References– — — — — — — — — — — — 99
Appendices — — — — — — — — — — — 106
About the Author– — — — — — — — — — 115

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
APER : Annual Performance Evaluation Report
HR : Human Resources
HRM : Human Resource Management
ICT : Information Communication Technology
ILO : International Labour Organisation
HOLGS : Head of Local Government Service
NPC : National Population Commission
NULGE : Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees

LIST OF TABLES
Table 4.1 Demography of the sample population– — — — —-70-71
Table 4.2 Assessment of the level of motivation– — — — —– 73
Table 4.3 Labour – Employee Relation in the councils– — — —– 75
Table 4.4 Motivation as a catalyst to improve the optimal productivity of local government staff in the state– — — — — — — 75
Table 4.5 Job security in the local government administration in the state—- 79
Table 4.6 Working in the local government councils in the state is challenging
and stimulating– — — — — — — — — 81
Table 4.7 Challenges of Human Reforms Management– — — — 84

LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 3.1 Map of Akwa Ibom State showing study Area — — — — 56
Figure 3.2 Organogram of Akwa Ibom State Local Government Service Commission — — — — — — — — — 62 Figure 4.1 Response Rate — — — — — — — — —
Figure 4.2 Status of Human Resources Management in the Local Government Councils of Akwa Ibom State within the context of
Recruitment/Staffing — — — — — — — — 72
Figure 4.3 Prompt and regular training of local government staff across all cadre
in the state — — — — — — — — — 74
Figure 4.4 Staff performance appraisal in the state– — — — — 76
Figure 4.5 Working conditions of the Local Government Administration in the
State– — — — — — — — — — 78
Figure 4.6 Quality of interpersonal relations among the local government staff
in the state — — — — — — — — — 80
Figure 4.7 There is favourable opportunity for advancement in the Local
Governments Administration in the state– — — — — 82

LIST OF APPENDICES
Appendix I Research Questionnaire
Appendix II Computation of the study sample size

ABSTRACT
This research examined the current state of Human Resource Management and Labour Productivity in Local Government Councils of Akwa Ibom State. Key informant interviews and the questionnaire were used to source primary data, while secondary data were obtained from books, journals, reports and the internet. The findings of the study show that the Local Government Councils have not optimally achieved productivity and utilisation of their workforce. The performance of the workforce in the local governments across the state clearly demonstrate deficiencies in the fulfillment of their mandate. Consequently, the workforce requires capacity and institutional building to strengthen and ensure broad consolidation of institutional capacity and ensure its efficiency. Though the workforce enjoys security of tenure, promotions and training, the deficiencies are attributed to the management and the workforce. Both play vital roles in the sustainability, survival and growth of the local government councils. The deficiencies are due to poor work culture, changes in technological skills particularly in information and communication technology, inadequate and low levels of training. Other factors include lack of effective succession planning across the 31 Local Government Councils, low motivation, infrastructure deficit, communication gaps and poor performance management. Consequently, the study recommended a comprehensive annual training programme based on need assessment and capacity gaps across all the cadres, a comprehensive succession planning , initiation of performance bond and prompt payment of local government employee’s salaries and offsetting all outstanding staff allowances. The study also recommended that the Local Government Service Commission should promote staff as at when due, invoke sanctions on erring staff, the councils to provide infrastructure to accommodate and boost the productivity of the workforce as well as initiate yearly award to outstanding staff and enhance Information and Communication Technology compliance. Ultimately, a comprehensive perspective in managing labour performance within the local government is necessary to accelerate service delivery.

CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background
Human resource management plays a significant role particularly in contributing to democracy, transparency and meritocracy in public administration (Woodard, 2005). The performance or productivity of particularly Public Sector and private organisations largely depends on competencies of its human resources. A number of characteristics make the public sector particularly distinctive and interesting with respect to human resource management (Mohammed, 2015). In the public sector, Mohammed (2015) added that activities are by far regulated by the laws, regulations, and procedures. Decisions are influenced by political and informal procedures; objectives are often multiple, vague, and politicised which, all in all, make their measurement specifically difficult. In addition, the employment process is based on appointment rather than election; and the organisational structure is often centralised.
Similarly, attempts to achieve a balanced development, maximise citisen’s participation, and arouse government responsiveness, are among the issues that necessitate the creation of the local governments (Sadiq, 2014). Consequently, the local government serves as a form of political and administrative structure which facilitates decentralisation, national integration, efficiency in governance, and a sense of belonging at the grassroots (Mbaya, et al., 2014).
In today’s modern competitive environment, organisations particularly local government administrations are facing emerging challenges in the form of acquisition and optimisation of human resources with the view to achieving maximum productivity. In the bid to surmount these challenges, there is the need for comprehensive Human Resource Management (HRM) practices to translate organisations’ human resources into sustainable performance. The success of most, if not all organisations depend largely on their human resources. According to Khan (2010) in a dynamic working atmosphere like Nigeria, for organisations to achieve better performance, there is the need for an articulate approach to implement HRM practices.
Nigeria’s experience in local government administration, whether in military regimes or in democratic era, has clearly shown that local governments face daunting challenges in their mandate to promote development and provide essential services to the rural dwellers. Sadly, the local government which is statutorily established to be the closest tier of government to the people is not doing its bidding coupled with the fact that resident population in it is denied the benefits of its existence. The failure of the local governments in the area of services delivery or performance has made the citisens to lose their trust in government as an institution (Ajibulu cited in Adeyemi, 2013)
Numerous studies have noted the tremendous contributions of Human Resources Management (HRM) practices on local governments’ performances (Ahmed and Schroeder, 2003; Schuler and Jackson, 2007; and Agyapomaa, 2011). Similarly, Edgar and Geare (2005) noted that the relationship between Human Resource Management practices and staff performance is an increasingly researched topic in human resource management. More specifically, HRM is hypothesised to fulfill employees’ needs which enhances favourable attitudes, and subsequently improves local governments’ performance (Edgar and Geare, 2005; Kuvaas, 2008). However, whether Human Resources Management (HRM) practices are negatively or positively related to local government performance or productivity is an issue that continuously remains open to empirical investigations. It is therefore, against this background that this study seeks to critically examine the impact of human resources management on local government performance in Akwa Ibom State.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
A persistent and major source of weakness of local government councils in Nigeria is inadequate executive capacity and its inability to live up to expectation in meeting the local needs and wants of the people. However, local government is gradually gaining emphasis based on the realisation that it is, or the most appropriate agency to bring about rural transformation with adequate and quality human resources. Therefore, human resource occupies an indispensable position in any organisation and the local government system cannot function effectively without employees. There has been criticism of local government system despite its strategic importance for not making adequate contribution to national development due to excessive state government control and interference in its functions and funding. Hence, the Local Government System faces problems which often hamper the attainment of its set goals largely due to the performance of its workforce. The performances of local governments across the country have thus far clearly demonstrated huge deficiencies in as far as the fulfilment of both their constitutional and current state of local government in respect to developmental mandate, service delivery and institutional capacity.
The efficiency or effectiveness of Local Governments in Nigeria cannot be understood outside the context of staff/manpower development. Onah (2008) observed that the workforce in Nigeria Public Service is under-utilised, under-tapped and falls short of its anticipated contributions to the realisation of organisational goals. Indeed, the problem has been compounded with growing complexity of the work environment, the rapid change in organisation and technological advancement which further undermines productivity of the workforce. Thus, this suggests that salient strategies need to be fulfilled to ensure excellence pertinent to this tier of government.
The 1976 Local Government Reforms which institutionalised the Local Government Service Commission shifts the Human Resources Management and development entirely as the responsibility of the Local Government Service Commission. Human Resource Management and development should be complemented by the local governments filling gaps that the Commission cannot wholly undertake. Assessments of local government performance have presented mixed results as their performance continue to fall short of citizens expectations. It is based on these and other problems that necessitated the conduct of this investigation with the view to examining the impact of human resource management on the productivity of the Local Government employees in Akwa Ibom State.
1.3 Research Questions
The study seeks to find answers to the following questions:
a. What is the current state of human resource management in the local government councils of Akwa Ibom State?
b. How has human resource management impacted on the productivity of the local government councils in Akwa Ibom State?
c. What are the challenges of human resource management in the local government councils of Akwa Ibom State?
d. How can these challenges of human resource management be ameliorated to enhance labour productivity in the local government councils of Akwa Ibom State?
e. What recommendations and implementation strategies can be made to achieve optimum labour productivity through human resource management in the local government councils of Akwa Ibom State?
1.4 Aim and Objectives of the Study
1.4.1 Aim
The aim of this study is to examine the impact of human resource management on labour productivity in Local Government Councils of Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria.
1.4.2 Objectives of the Study
The objectives of the study include:
a. To examine the current state of human resources management in the local government councils of Akwa Ibom State in respect to its developmental mandate.
b. To determine how human resource management has improved service delivery capacity in the local government councils in Akwa Ibom State.
c. To identify the challenges of human resource management in enhancing the institutional capacity of the local government councils in Akwa Ibom State.
d. To ascertain how these challenges of human resource management can be ameliorated with the view to enhance the institutional capacity of the local government councils in Akwa Ibom State.
e. To make recommendations and implementation strategies in order to achieve optimum productivity of the workforce in the local government councils in Akwa Ibom State.
1.5 Scope of the Study
The study covers the period from 2007 to 2019, the tenure of the last two civilian administration in the state. The scope was narrowed to 3 Local Government Councils in each of the 3 Senatorial Zones of the State comprising 31 Local Government Councils and Uyo local government council being the state capital. The study focused on 10 Local Government Councils in the State. The 10 Local Government Councils were selected using stratified random sampling. On the intellectual boundary, the study was limited to examining how human resource management can be improved with the view to enhance the` productivity of the Local Government Councils in Akwa Ibom State.
1.6 Limitation of the Study
The major constraints confronted by the study include the following:
i. The negative attitude or ‘I don’t care’ attitude of some respondents in responding and retrieving the administered questionnaires on good time due to seeking for clearance from their superiors.
ii. The difficulties in reaching out to some senior officials of the Ministry for Local Government and Local Government Service Commission for an in-depth-interview due to their crowded official engagements and constraints of the Covid-19 pandemic.
iii. The difficulties in having access to some official documents due to their high nature of confidentiality and sensitivity.
However, in order to mitigate these challenges, the researcher embarked on an extensive library and internet search with the view to sourcing of adequate data.
1.7 Significance and Policy Relevance of the Study
The research findings would add value to the existing knowledge on human resources management and its application in government institutions. Furthermore, it would enable the Akwa Ibom State Government to implement efficient work and performance measurement in services thereby reducing personnel cost and poor manpower forecast; it will also improve institutional capacity and enhance service delivery.

1.8 Conceptual Clarifications
The following key concepts are clarified and operationally defined as follows:
1.8 .1 Local Government Council
According to Ojofeitimi (2000) Local government is a political sub-division of a nation which is constituted by law and has substantial control of local affairs including the power to impose taxes or to demand labour for prescribed purposes. Local government therefore connotes a government at grassroots level exercised through representative councils established by law to exercise specific functions. Within the limit of its power, it has legal autonomy to make policies, to prepare its own budget, to hire its own staff and to execute its own policies. This definition is adopted for this study.
1.8.2 Human Resource Management
Human resource management is administrative activities associated with human resources planning, recruitment, selection, orientation, training, appraisal, motivation and also a function within an organisation that focuses on people. In This study, it is a systematic process of managing people, acquiring and engaging the required workforce appropriate for resource development in the Local government system.

1.8.3 Labour Productivity
According to Rathnam (1990) “Productivity is the quality or state of being productive. It is a concept that guides the management of production systems and measures its success. It is the quality that indicates how well labour, capital, materials and energy are utilized”. Consequently, labour productivity means the development of scientific attitude on the part of management and that of labour through the adoption of scientific principles and scientific techniques. Productivity is viewed as a comprehensive measure of how efficient and effective an organisation works to meet up with its objectives and programmes trends (Iyaniwa and Osoba, 1983). In this study, it emphasises the quality, state or fact of a worker being able to generate, create, enhance or bring forth services.
1.8.4 Performance Management
Performance Management is the total system of managing the achievement of organisational goals and objectives through the assignment of duties and tasks to employees, appraising performance and institutionalising a performance-based reward system. This approach has become a statutory performance measure to deliver quality services in a dynamic and diverse public sector environment as it includes a culture for institutional and individual performances to be assessed. This view is considered all-encompassing and thereby adopted for this study.

1.9 Theoretical Framework
There are many schools of thought that guide the study of Human Resource Management. For example, the Theory X and Y are theories which explain work motivation within the context of organisational management or behavior, which was propounded by Douglas Mcgregor in the 1960’s in his book titled the Human side of Enterprise. According to Mcgregor (1964), both theory X and Y are guided by certain assumptions. For example theory X assumes the following:
(a) Most people dislike work and will avoid it to the extent possible.
(b) They must be continually coerced, controlled, and threatened with punishment to get the work done.
(c) They have little or no ambition, prefer to avoid responsibility, and choose security above everything else.
Theory-Y’s assumptions are:
(a) Physical and mental effort are natural and most people (depending on the work environment) find work to be a source of satisfaction.
(b) They generally, on their own motivation, exercise self-control, self-direction, creativity, and ingenuity in pursuit of individual and collective (organisation or company) goals.
(c) They either seek responsibility or learn to accept it willingly.
(d) Their full potential is not tapped in most organisations.
These assumptions of theories X and Y, according to Mcgregor (1964) serve as powerful behavioural models reflected in the way an organisation is structured. Therefore, management that believes in Theory-X’s assumptions, creates stick-and-carrot approach based on organisations with restrictive discipline and pervasive controls. Theory-Y’s believers create trust based on organisations with empowered employees.
Frederick Herzberg an American Organisational Psychologist (1964) tried to find out the correlation between employee attitude and workplace motivation. He wanted to find out what made people feel satisfied and unsatisfied when it comes to the workplace. After an intensive field work interviewing employees about what made them feel both good and bad about their jobs, Herzberg finally developed a theory of workplace motivation called the two-factor theory in 1964. According to Herzberg the two-factor theory is based on the assumption that there are two sets of factors that influence motivation in the workplace by either enhancing employee satisfaction or hindering it.
The first of the two are called hygiene or extrinsic factors. Herzberg referred to these factors to include: salary, allowances, promotion compensation, job security, organisational politics, working conditions etc. According to Herzberg, these factors do not motivate employees. However, when they are missing or inadequate, hygiene factors can cause serious dissatisfaction which may possibly cause low productivity. Think about how unhappy you would be in a job when you are not paid or underpaid. Similarly, think how unhappy you would be in a job when you fear losing your job. Hygiene factors are all about making an employee feel comfortable, secure, and happy. When hygiene factors are not fulfilled, it feels like something is missing or not quite right. The second factor is motivators or satisfiers. These are also called the intrinsic factors. These include: responsibility, job satisfaction, recognition, achievement, opportunities for growth, and advancement.
Based on the assumptions of the above reviewed theories, the study has adopted the Two-Factor-Theory of Frederick Herzberg with particular reference to his hygiene and intrinsic factors. According to Lawal (2015) due to the prevailing economic hardship in Nigeria, workers in both public and private sectors tend to be highly motivated with fat salaries, regular promotion and payment of fringe benefits. Based on this, Lawal (2015) also added that, there is need for the human resource managers to give more attention on extrinsic motivation if the organizational goals are to be met.
1.10. Methodology
1.10.1 Research Strategy
The study used mixed strategy in sourcing both quantitative and qualitative data. The justification for the adaption of this mixed strategy is to guide in answering the research questions and also help the study in expanding and solidifying its conclusions and recommendations.
1.10.2 Research Design
The study used case study design with the view to having in-depth study of the concept of human resource management and how it affects workers’ productivity. The justification for the adoption of this design is that it provides room for a detailed and intensive examination of a single case i.e. human resource management and how it impacts on labour productivity of the local government councils.
1.10.3 Population, Sample and sampling Technique
The study population consisted of council workers in three Local Governments in each of the three Senatorial Zones of the State including Uyo local government. These are: North East Senatorial Zone consisting of Uyo, Itu, Nsit Atai and Uruan Local Governments. North West Senatorial Zone include: Ikono, Ikot Ekpene and Abak Local Governments. South-South Senatorial Zone consists, Eket, Oron and Ikot Abasi Local Governments. All the study population or respondents from these Local Governments were selected by probability sampling method i.e. stratified sampling technique. Similarly, all the ten Local Governments from the three Senatorial Zone were selected by simple random sampling technique.
In determining the sample size, the total population of the three strata or Senatorial Zones consisting the ten selected Local Governments was first obtained as 3850 (Local Government Service Commission Report 2018). Based on this, the Taro Yamane’s formula at 0.05 significance level was used in computing the sample size in which 350 was obtained. (Refer to appendix II for detailed analysis). This means a total of 350 questionnaires were distributed and administered to the selected sample for the sourcing of primary quantitative data. Similarly, the study purposively selected 20 respondents consisting of senior officials of the Local Government Service Commission, Ministry for Local Government and Chairmen and Secretaries of Local Government Areas in Akwa Ibom State. These purposively selected respondents were administered an in-depth-interview for the sourcing of primary qualitative data.
1.10.4 Methods of Data Collection
Survey and in-depth- interview are the methods used in sourcing primary quantitative and qualitative data. The survey involved use of semi-closed- ended-questionnaire for sourcing of primary quantitative data. The instrument consisted both multiple choice, dichotomous and rating questions. The in-depth-interview was used to source qualitative data. It consisted of 7-in-depth interview guided questions. Similarly, library and internet search was used to source secondary data with references made to relevant books, journals, official publications, lectures, policy papers, newspapers and news magazines. Similarly, the study standardise these instruments with appropriate statistical analysis to enhance their validity and reliability.
1.10.5 Methods of Data Analysis
The quantitative data was analysed by percentages and frequency distribution in line with the research questions through the use of tables and figures. The quantitative data was also analysed using appropriate Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) software in line with the research questions.
1.11 Organisation of the Study
The study is organised into five chapters. Chapter One covers the background, statement of the problem, research questions, aim and objectives, scope, limitations, significance and policy relevance, conceptual clarification, methodology and organisation of the study. Chapter Two reviews the related literature. Chapter Three highlights the Historical and Policy Context of Human Resource Management and Labour Productivity in the Local Government Councils of Akwa Ibom State. Chapter Four is the analysis of data on human resource management and labour productivity of local government councils in Akwa Ibom State. Chapter five covers conclusion, recommendations and implementation strategies.