A. O. Oladipupo

This study examined the influence of community engagement on public project effectiveness in three selected Local Government Areas in Benin City, Edo State, Nigeria. Specifically, it examined the direct effects of three core dimensions of community engagement: information transparency, participatory decision-making, and community empowerment/monitoring, on public project effectiveness. The study further tested the mediating role of perceived government accountability in the engagement-effectiveness relationship, the moderating role of community capacity, and whether the engagement- effectiveness relationship varied across LGAs and project types. Employing a cross- sectional survey design, primary data were collected through structured questionnaires from 333 respondents comprising residents/users, community leaders, project committee members, business owners, and other stakeholders involved in public projects. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, ordinary least squares (OLS) regression, Baron and Kenny mediation steps with Sobel test, moderated regression, and subgroup analysis. The results revealed that neither overall community engagement nor its individual dimensions (information transparency, participatory decision-making, and community empowerment/monitoring) had a statistically significant positive effect on public project effectiveness (p > 0.05). Perceived government accountability did not mediate the relationship between community engagement and project effectiveness, while community capacity did not moderate the relationship. Subgroup analyses by LGA and project type similarly showed no significant heterogeneity in the engagement-effectiveness link. These findings indicate that, in the context of Benin City, current community engagement practices are largely superficial and have not translated into measurable improvements in project outcomes. The non-significant relationships may reflect inadequate depth of participation, weak institutional accountability mechanisms, and limited community capacity to influence project processes. The study therefore recommended a deliberate shift from tokenistic to genuine, power-sharing engagement models; institutionalisation of transparent and responsive accountability mechanisms; sustained capacity-building programmes for community structures; and the adoption of clear, measurable indicators for monitoring both engagement processes and project effectiveness. Implementing these recommendations will help unlock the potential of community engagement as a driver of successful and sustainable public projects in Edo State and similar contexts.

Although global emphasis on sustainability responsibility seems to rise, studies in developing climes are yet to match the tide as more existing write ups focused on single clime while few focused on more climes at a glance. Hence, this study examined the influence of corporate characteristics on sustainability reporting among listed non-financial firms in Nigeria, South Africa, and Kenya. Guided by stakeholder theory, this study specifically explored the effect of profitability, firm size, firm age, firm leverage, and human resources development on sustainability reporting, as measured by the Sustainability Reporting Index. Turnover growth was included as a control variable. The study employed ex-post facto research design. The population was 374 listed non-financial firms. Census sampling technique was used and through filtration, 312 firms were sampled from 2012 to 2023. Secondary data was obtained from the firms’ annual reports and standalone reports. Preliminary analysis (descriptive statistics, normality and correlation matrix) and inferential analysis (from panel ordinary least square to robust regression) were conducted in order to demonstrate the statistical relationship between the variables. Post diagnostic tests (heteroskedasticity and multicollinearity) were also conducted to ensure the reliability of the model. The findings revealed that human resource development has statistical significant effect on sustainability reporting across all countries and in the pooled (combined) model. Firm age also demonstrated a generally positive influence, reflecting the importance of institutional maturity in driving disclosure behavior. Firm size indicated statistical significance in Nigeria and South Africa at varying direction while firm leverage showed statistical significance in South Africa only. Profitability, however, was found to have no significant effect on sustainability reporting across all models, highlighting that financial performance does not necessarily translate into greater non-financial disclosure. The study concluded that corporate characteristics wield influence on sustainability reporting more on account of institutional and organizational maturity as well as human resources development than on the ground of financial performance. The study recommended that firms prioritize investments in employee training, welfare, and professional development to enhance their capacity for sustainability reporting. Furthermore, capacity-building initiatives targeting younger and smaller firms should be implemented to improve awareness and reporting competence. Sustainability reporting should be embedded as a strategic objective, independent of profitability, to foster long-term organizational transparency and accountability

The study examined the corrupt practices by telecommunication service providers in Nigeria and their impacts on the efficiency of telecom services in the country. Specifically, the focused on identifying the different categories of corrupt practices by the telecom service providers and their collective impact on service availability, quality of service, and their cost of service. In order to achieve these objectives, the study adopted the cross-sectional survey research design, using primary data. The population consisted of all active telecommunication users (subscribers) in the six (6) South-South States in Nigeria (i.e. Akwa-Ibom = 3,102,760; Bayelsa = 1,102,570;
Cross-River = 2,274,165; Delta = 5,328,096; Edo = 5,169,076 and Rivers State = 6,270,011), totalling 23,246,678 subscribers (i.e. GSM and others) as at the second quarter (Q2) of 2018. The Taro Yamani’s formula was employed in systematically scaling down the sample to four hundred (400) participants for convenient sake which were chosen randomly among the subscribers of the four (4) major service providers in Nigeria (MTN, Glo, Airtel and 9mobile). Both descriptive statistics and the simple linear regression techniques were used for the analysis. The results showed an inverse and non-significant relationship between level of corrupt practices, telecom service availability and quality of telecom service. This implies that higher levels of corrupt practice by telecom operators have the tendency of reducing telecom service availability and quality, but not significantly. However, the relationship between level of corrupt practices and cost of service is positive and statistically significant meaning that higher level of corrupt practice by telecom network providers is strongly associated with high cost of telecom services (tariffs). The study concludes that the level of corrupt practices by telecom network providers is not associated with the quality and availability of the telecommunication service in Nigeria. The study recommends, among others, that stiffer sanctions, such as withdrawal of licence, should be meted out to network providers found to be engaging in corrupt practices and/or exploitative services capable of short-changing the subscribing public

The study examined the corrupt practices by telecommunication service providers in Nigeria and their impacts on the efficiency of telecom services in the country. Specifically, the focused on identifying the different categories of corrupt practices by the telecom service providers and their collective impact on service availability, quality of service, and their cost of service. In order to achieve these objectives, the study adopted the cross-sectional survey research design, using primary data. The population consisted of all active telecommunication users (subscribers) in the six (6) South-South States in Nigeria (i.e. Akwa-Ibom = 3,102,760; Bayelsa = 1,102,570;
Cross-River = 2,274,165; Delta = 5,328,096; Edo = 5,169,076 and Rivers State = 6,270,011), totalling 23,246,678 subscribers (i.e. GSM and others) as at the second quarter (Q2) of 2018. The Taro Yamani’s formula was employed in systematically scaling down the sample to four hundred (400) participants for convenient sake which were chosen randomly among the subscribers of the four (4) major service providers in Nigeria (MTN, Glo, Airtel and 9mobile). Both descriptive statistics and the simple linear regression techniques were used for the analysis. The results showed an inverse and non-significant relationship between level of corrupt practices, telecom service availability and quality of telecom service. This implies that higher levels of
corrupt practice by telecom operators have the tendency of reducing telecom service availability and quality, but not significantly. However, the relationship between level of corrupt practices and cost of service is positive and statistically significant meaning that higher level of corrupt practice by telecom network providers is strongly associated with high cost of telecom services (tariffs). The study concludes that the level of corrupt practices by telecom network providers is not associated with the quality and availability of the telecommunication service in Nigeria. The study recommends, among others, that stiffer sanctions, such as withdrawal of licence, should be meted out to network providers found to be engaging in corrupt practices and/or exploitative services capable of short-changing the subscribing public.