ENTREPRENEURIAL GOVERNMENT, FISCAL CAPACITY AND SERVICE DELIVERY IN EDO STATE, NIGERIA

Given the disproportionate relationship between fiscal responsibility and taxing capacity, local councils' inability to generate sufficient internal revenue to augment receipts from the central allocation is exacerbated. The situation has placed councils in a perpetual “infant industry ” situation. Previous studies on the intractable challenges of local government financing focus on the unfavourable skewness of the existing revenue allocation formula against councils, with minimalfocus on the strategic imperative of exploring contemporary entrepreneurial approach by governments in boosting internally generated revenues, to propel service delivery. In departure, this study attempts to examine the efficacy of “managerialism” in public service delivery, with Edo States 2017 “reforms” as case. Adopting a primary survey design, the study relied on data gatheredfrom stakeholders and adopted structural functionalism in explaining the success or failure of governmental institutions in their assignedfiscal functions. In line with the objective to examine the trend in revenue accretion, simple percentage analysis is conducted. The summary of thefindings indicated that Edo State Government increased internally generated revenue by all local government councils from average monthly N30million in 2016 to N220million in 2017, due to the entrepreneurial approach to revenue management initiated in 2017. Consequently, it is recommended that other states in Nigeria should embark on institutional reforms for the needed revolution in internally generated revenue, for service^ delivery.