POVERTY ALLEVIATION IN A DEREGULATED ECONOMY: CHALLENGES AND PROSPECTS FOR SUSTAINABLE DECMOCRACY IN NIGERIA.

This paper unfolds the divergent mechanism for poverty alleviation in Nigeria by successive Federal Government, which has been referred to as elitist and centralist in terms of policy initiation. The paper therefore focuses on the need for greater private involvement in poverty alleviation programmes guarded by the government on two basic perspectives; first, the identification and utilization of communal resources in productive activities to better the lives of the local people. Thus. poverty alleviation should be approached not from a uniform perspective, but based on local resources to meet local needs. Secondly, a participatory poverty assessment method should be utilized in involving the target population (the poor) in policy initiation and assessing the impact of such programmes on the people