LOCAL GOVERNMENT ADMINISTRATION AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT IN NSIT UBIUM LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA, AKWA IBOM STATE, NIGERIA.

It has been observed that the Local Government seem to be limited in the exercise of her developmental functionality which seems to have drastically affected the development of the rural areas in Nigeria for which Nsit Ubium Local Government is not an exception, as it seems to experience poor infrastructural development, poor educational development as well as poor healthcare development. It is against this backdrop, that the study sought to investigate the inter-play between Local Government Administration and Rural Development in Nsit Ubium Local Government Area. The researcher adopted the survey design in the study, the population of the study was 162,200 according to National bureau of statistics (2022). A sample size of 399 was determined using the Taro Yamane formula. The simple random sampling technique was adopted for the study, questionnaire was used as instrument for data collection as data was gotten from primary source. The simple percentage method was used for data analysis as Chi-Square was used to test the hypothesis formulated for the study. The study adopted development administration theory as the theoretical framework that guides the study. The findings of the study revealed that local government administration has had a significant impact on rural development in Nsit Ubium local government area in area of infrastructural development, education and healthcare development. The study therefore recommended that Nsit Ubium Local Government should engage with the Akwa Ibom State and Federal Government to access funding opportunities for infrastructural, educational and healthcare development and also establish monitoring and evaluation framework to ensure that development projects are implemented effectively and efficiently in the area.