The Constraints of Social Welfare Policy in Rural Poverty Reduction: A Study of National Poverty Eradication Programme in Oron and Udung Uko Local Government Areas, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria

The study investigated the constraints of social welfare policy on rural poverty reduction in Oron and Udung Uko local government areas of Akwa Ibom state as study area. Three null hypotheses were formulated namely: non-involvement of beneficiary communities in programme design, corruption and poor policy implementation and rural poverty reduction. Data were obtained using a 26-item research instrument. Expost-facto research design was adopted while data were collected from 300 randomly sampled inhabitants (male and female) of the six strata (clans) of the study. Stratified, cluster, purposive and simple random sampling procedures were variously applied at appropriate stages of the study. The generated data were statistically tested using Pearson Product Moment correlation coefficient. Social welfare policies are ineffective in reducing poverty because they are constrained by non-involvement of beneficiary communities in programme design and conceptualization, corruption and poor policy implementation. Strategic options for poverty reduction in Nigeria include bottom-top approach and strengthening due process mechanism to check corruption and ensure proper project implementation.