Impact of E-Governance Adoption in Building Plan Application and Permit Approval Processing on Development Control Administration in Rivers State

Justice E. Nnokam Grace I. Etekuchay.PhD

doi:10.56201/jpaswr.v11.no9.2026.pg165.182

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Impact of E-Governance Adoption in Building Plan Application and Permit Approval Processing on Development Control Administration in Rivers State

Justice E. Nnokam Grace I. Etekuchay.PhD

Abstract

this study examined the impact of e-governance adoption in building plan application and permit approval processing on development control administration in rivers state. The study was undertaken against the background of increasing urban development pressures and the need to improve the efficiency, transparency, and coordination of physical planning administration through digital technologies. A mixed-methods research design was adopted within a pragmatist paradigm, combining quantitative survey data with qualitative semi-structured interviews. The study population comprised 3,692 relevant staff, professionals, applicants, and stakeholders across the Rivers State Ministry of Urban Development and Physical Planning, Rivers State Ministry of Lands and Survey, and Greater Port Harcourt City Development Authority. A sample of 361 respondents was determined using the Taro Yamane formula, with 397 questionnaires administered after allowing for attrition. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics and Pearson Product-Moment Correlation, while interview information was subjected to thematic analysis. Findings showed that respondents agreed that e-governance had been adopted in building plan application and permit approval processing, with a grand mean of 2.66. Electronic payment recorded the highest mean (2.72), while online application status tracking recorded the lowest (2.61). Pearson correlation revealed a strong, positive, and statistically significant relationship between e-governance adoption and development control administration (r = 0.540, t = 12.11, df = 356, p < .05). The null hypothesis was therefore rejected. Qualitative evidence further indicated that adoption had been largely demand-driven by larger commercial developers, while smaller applicants continued to favour physical processes. The study concluded that e-governance adoption had significantly improved development control administration, although gaps in accessibility, trust, and complete digital transition remained. The study recommended that ministry of Urban Development and Physical Planning should extend targeted outreach and simplified onboarding support to individual and small-scale permit applicants specifically, since the finding that adoption in building plan application and permit approval processing has been demand-led and developer-concentrated indicates that smaller applicants require deliberate institutional effort, rather than passive platform availability alone.

Keywords

Development ControlAdministrationE-GovernanceBuilding PlanPermit Processing. jpaswr

References

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Impact of E-Governance Adoption in Building Plan Application and Permit Approval Processing on Development Control Administration in Rivers State

Abstract

Keywords

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