THE IMPACT OF BUREAUCRACY IN NIGERIA PUBLIC ENTERPRISE: A case study of PHCN

​​​​​​Background of the study: The National Electric Power Authority which is today known as Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) was established by the NEPA Act of 1872. The Act authorized the merger of the activities of the Niger Dam Authority and the Electricity corporation of Nigeria. The operation object clause is among other things: “to develop and maintain an efficient coordinated and economical system of electricity supply to all parts of the federation or as the Authority may direct and for this purpose”. A close scrutiny of PHCN performance over years reveals that the above provision of the Decree are not efficiently observed. It was estimated according to world bank report, that inefficiency in  power sector alone created losses of over US$800 Million annually in Nigeria (World Bank 1794).The purpose of a Bureaucracy is to successfully implement the actions of an organization of any size (but often associated with large initiatives such as government corporation and non-governmental organizations), in achieving its purpose and mission, the bureaucracy is tasked to determine how it can achieve its purpose and mission with the greatest possible efficiency and at the least cost of any resources.The principle of social organization which characterize the twentieth century industrial society is “rational coordination” otherwise known as “Bureaucracy”. Under this form of organization, people are brought together in formal and complex settings run by professionals and experts. The professionals are called “Bureaucrats” while the organizations they run are known as “Bureaucracies”. The nineteenth century produced a number of brilliantly descriptive and literacy accounts of modern bureaucracies. Many writers call attention to the increasing bureaucratization of human activity but Max Wcber  a German Sociologist historian and economist is credited with having made the most thorough analysis of bureaucracy (Mullins 1999). The main contention in the writings of those scholars is that more and more spheres of life are being dominated by large orgainsations and increasing number of people are becoming employees of complex organization. As a matter of fact, quite a few aspect of medium society can be studied without reference to bureaucracy.