Abstract: | Techniques of development planning involve physical and financial planning. Financial planning refers to the allocation of resources in terms of money. Past Nigerian development plans and budgets have used a method of resource allocation based on the incremental approach. This approach has been plagued by various shortcomings and has resulted in the deliberate inflation of estimated expenditures, retarded growth, and conflicts between sponsoring and evaluating ministries. Moreover, the incremental approach does not adequately reflect national goals and objectives with their attendant priorities. Conventional mathematical programming models are also inadequate for allocating resources in an environment such as that of Nigeria, with its multiple and conflicting objectives. The present paper proposes a goal programming model for allocating Nigeria's scarce resources among competing sectors and subsectors within a perspective plan period. The goal programming model has been found adequate for resource allocation where conflicting national goals exist. The model also aids in the determination of priority structures for the achievement of all the set goals. Bibliogr., sum. |