IMPACT OF ANTI-POVERTY PROGRAMME ON DEVELOPMENT OF RURAL AREAS OF NIGERIA

The study investigated the impact of National Poverty Eradication Programme (NAPEP) among rural population in Mangu Local Government of Plateau State, Nigeria. The objective of the study was to investigate the impact of government’s poverty intervention programmes especially National Poverty Eradication Programme (NAPEP) in the study area among others. A sample size of 500 was adopted for the study. The respondents were selected using systematic sampling technique. Questionnaire, focus group discussions and in-depth interviews were used to collect data from the respondents. The data were analyzed using different statistical techniques such as descriptive statistics among others. The findings showed that NAPEP has little positive impact on the well-being of the labour force due to alleged high rate of corruption among leaders and leakage of benefits to un-intended beneficiaries. In addition, the findings showed that poverty has serious setback on the development of the study area and by extension rural areas of Nigeria. Recommendations were made for policy makers and implementers to empower rural areas to enhance their development