Assessment of Local Government and Community Cooperation in Rural Development: A Study of Ikwo Local Government Area of Ebonyi State

This study assesses local government and community cooperation in rural development with emphasis on Ikwo Local Government Area of Ebonyi State. The problem of the study focuses poor development of the rural communities, mismatch in the projects initiated and what the communities want and poor consultation of the people and collaboration between the communities and the people. The objectives of the study were to assess the extent to which local government and community cooperation have enhanced the provision of infrastructural facilities; improved the quality of education and provision of healthcare facilities in Ikwo Local Government Area of Ebonyi state. Three research questions and hypotheses guided the study. The study adopted a Descriptive survey research method with a sample size of 400 purposively drawn from a population of 384, 400 in Ikwo Local Government Area of Ebonyi State. A 15-item questionnaire was used for data collection. The data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics like frequency count, percentage and mean scores. The hypotheses were tested with Pearson correlation analysis. The study revealed that the existing local government and community cooperation in Ikwo Local Government Area of Ebonyi State has not contributed to high degree in the provision of infrastructural facilities (0.60 > 0.05). However, results showed that the existing local government and community cooperation in Ikwo Local Government Area of Ebonyi State has not contributed to high degree in the quality of education (0.64 > 0.05) and the provision of healthcare facilities (0.62 > 0.05). The study however concludes that the government cannot adequately provide all the basic needs of the rural population neither would the rural communities do, hence the need for partnership between the two, government/community cooperation in Ikwo local government area has not significantly helped in the provision of infrastructural facilities, also government/community cooperation in Ikwo local government area has not contributed significantly in providing quality education and healthcare facilities to the people. Based on the findings, recommendations include that Government and Communities in Ikwo Local Government Area of Ebonyi State should intensify their efforts in the provision of infrastructural facilities in the rural areas to achieve rapid and sustainable rural development. Communities in Ikwo Local Government Area of Ebonyi State should be sensitized on the imperativeness of assisting the government in the provision of quality education to the members of the rural communities. The government should also encourage education by providing help to the poor members of the community to have access to quality education for knowledge and skill acquisition.