CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1         Background to the Study

The concept of public expenditure is a major area in public finance which is of crucial

importance in Public Administration because when policies are made without financial

support, especially policies that are financial in nature and without the finance to execute the

policy it is of no use. Therefore, public expenditure is the expense incurred by the

government for maintaining of itself, the economy and society. Public expenditure is an

important mechanism which government uses to have significant impact on people‟s lives in

terms of standard of living, better opportunities and essentially an to stimulate economic

activities, (Salawu, 2005).

However, in Nigeria the economic philosophy which embraces mixed economy, gives the

government a position of substantial importance in the economic activities of the country,

this involvement is inextricably tied up to her spending progr