Democratic Governance and Sustainable Development in Benue State of Nigeria Since 1999
George-Genyi, Member Euginia

Abstract
This paper has explored the extent to which democratic governance in Benue State of Nigeria has attempted to transform the living conditions and overall socioeconomic and political progress of the people of the state. This is with a view to establishing the correlation between democratic practice and the development of a given society. Consequently, the causal links between democratic governance and development in Nigeria generally and Benue State in particular was analyzed. A purely qualitative, historical and descriptive method for gathering date was adopted. Issues covered included the constraints on governance such as the extensive personalization of power, privatization of the state, denial of the fundamental human rights of the people, widespread corruption, strangulation of opposition politics and the general insecurity arising from electoral contests. We observe that lack of accountability, transparency and responsibility in the use of state power does not augur well for development, hence positive steps should be taken to redress this anomaly in the governance of the state. The paper concludes that an effective state directed by a visionary leadership, that has capacity for efficient problem solving and the management of socio-economic resources, is at the heart of sustainable development in Benue State.

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