IMPLEMENTATION OF MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS PROJECTS IN ENUGU STATE, NIGERIA

The study focused on implementation of Millennium Development Goal 1 projects towards alleviating poverty in Enugu State, Nigeria. The study aims at providing useful information on MDG 1 initiative on poverty alleviation. Specifically, the study sought to ascertain the: extent of implementation of MDG 1 projects, level of participation of the communities in the implementation of MDG 1 projects, extent of success of MDG 1 projects in alleviating poverty, constraints to effective implementation of MDG 1 projects and strategies for enhancing the implementation of MDG 1 projects in Enugu state. The research was carried out in 32 Autonomous Communities randomly selected from six (6) local government areas purposively selected out of the seventeen (17) local government Areas that made up Enugu state. Five research questions guided the study. Five null hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance. The study adopted descriptive survey research design. A 76 item structured questionnaire developed by the researcher and titled Millennium Development Goal 1 Projects Questionnaire (MDG1PQ) was used for data collection. The population of the study was 1035 made up of 345 traditional rulers, 345 town union presidents and 345 presidents of Christian women organizations. A sample of 288 was drawn using Yaro Yamane formula. The sample is made up of 96 traditional rulers, 96 town union presidents and 96 presidents of Christian women organizations. The data collected were analyzed using Mean and Standard Deviation for Research Questions while Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was used for testing the hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. The questionnaire was face validated by three experts: Two of the validates were from the Department of Adult Education and Extra-Mural Studies while the third validate is from Measurement and Evaluation unit, Department of Science Education University of Nigeria, Nsukka. The Reliability Coefficient was obtained through Cronbach Alpha reliability technique for the clusters: Cluster A = 0.78, Cluster B = 0.76, Cluster C = 0.79, Cluster D = 0.77, and Cluster E = 0.82 with an overall Reliability Coefficient of 0.78. The findings of the study showed that MDG 1 projects are implemented to a very low extent, and communities participated to low extent in the implementation of MDG 1 projects, MDG 1 projects are succeeding to a low extent in alleviating poverty in the communities because of identified constraints to MDG 1 projects. However, some strategies for enhancing the implementation of MDG 1 projects in the communities were explored. In conclusion, the Means and Standard Deviations showed that the respondents agreed that: MDG 1 projects are implemented to very a low extent, communities participated to a low extent in the implementation of MDG 1, MDG 1 projects are succeeding in alleviating poverty to a low extent, there are constraints to implementation of MDG 1 projects and various strategies for enhancing the effective implementation of MDG 1 projects in Enugu State. Based on the findings the researcher recommended that the community development experts should create awareness on the value of MDG 1 projects for sustainable community development, and that members of the communities should be involved in planning and implementation of MDG 1 projects among others. The researcher made some suggestions for further research including, Implementation of MDG 1 projects through Public and Private Partnerships in Nigeria.