Abstract

Good governance is now recognised in a manner like never before, as a necessary condition for economic growth and poverty reduction. The focus of this paper therefore is to evaluate the effect of urban governance on the condition and provision of infrastructural services including citizens’ perception of service delivery in metropolitan Lagos. The study is a survey research designed to obtain information from Lagos residents on the quality of governance in the city including the extent of stakeholder involvement in decision making. Structured questionnaires were distributed to two groups of 400 and 1040 households respectively. There was also a survey of the impact of road improvement on business premises. Findings from the study indicated that infrastructure provision in Lagos is supply-driven and that poor governance adversely affects business activities and economic development. Demand-side management in infrastructure provision and stakeholder communication and participation are highly recommended.

Key words: Infrastructure services, Lagos, Management, Stakeholder communication, urban governance, urban management.