The Effect of Public-Private Partnership (PPP) on Revenue Efficiency in Rev. Fr. Moses Orshio Adasu University, Makurdi

Abstract

Fr. Moses Orshio Adasu University. The study adopted a descriptive survey research design with a structured questionnaire used to collect data from students, teaching staff, and non-teaching staff of the university. The Institutional Theory was adopted as the theoretical framework for the study. The findings revealed that public-private partnership has a significant positive effect on internally generated revenue, cost efficiency, timeliness, and effectiveness of service delivery, and financial sustainability in the university. Specifically, PPP improves revenue collection efficiency, reduces leakages through digital systems, enhances resource utilisation, improves administrative speed, and strengthens long-term financial stability. The study also established that all the tested hypotheses were rejected, confirming the statistical significance of PPP in enhancing university performance. The study recommended that university management should strengthen partnerships with private financial institutions and ICT firms to further improve revenue generation systems, expand cost-efficient service delivery mechanisms, and enhance digital platforms for timely administrative processes, among other strategies aimed at improving overall institutional efficiency and sustainability. Keywords: Public–Private Partnership, Revenue Efficiency, Cost Efficiency, Service Delivery, and Financial Sustainability

Populism and Democratic Backsliding in Africa: An Administrative Nightmare

Abstract

The rise of populism has become a pressing challenge to democratic governance, resulting in the gradual erosion of institutional checks and balances, judicial independence and political pluralism across both Western and African contexts. Democratic backsliding, driven by economic inequality, cultural anxiety, and declining trust in institutions, has allowed populist leaders to consolidate power, delegitimise opposition, and weaken civil liberties. This study examined populism and democratic backsliding in Africa using a purely qualitative approach, relying exclusively on secondary data sources. Guided by democratic backsliding theory, the findings reveal that in Western contexts such as the United States, Hungary, and Poland, populist leaders have exploited institutional weaknesses to centralise power, delegitimise opposition, and undermine judicial independence. Similar patterns emerge in Africa, where leaders in Zimbabwe, Uganda, Tanzania, Ethiopia, and Senegal have used populist rhetoric to justify constitutional amendments, restrict media freedoms, and securitise governance, thereby shrinking democratic space. In Nigeria, populist mobilisation has often been intertwined with institutional weakening. Leaders have employed anti-corruption narratives, managed economic crises, and invoked security emergencies to consolidate executive dominance and curtail civil liberties. These trends have been reinforced by selective law enforcement, contested elections, and elite party defections, which undermine political pluralism. Across all contexts, the study identifies economic inequality, cultural anxiety, and declining trust in democratic institutions as key drivers of populist appeal and its corrosive effects. The study recommends strengthening judicial independence, enhancing political accountability, promoting media literacy and civic education, and addressing socio-economic grievances to restore institutional integrity and prevent further erosion of democratic norms globally. Keywords: Populism, Democratic Backsliding, Democracies, Institutions, Civic Education