Vol. 1, Issue 11, Part L (2015)

Abstract
The purpose of this study was to x-ray some developmental programmes targeted at poverty alleviation of past Nigerian governments both Military and Civilian. Also, to find out why poverty still thrives in Nigeria despite such laudable programmes such as the Operation Feed the Nation, NEEDS, DFFRI among others. One problem that has been identified is the problem of continuity among successive governments. When a new government comes into power then the projects/programmes of the previous government become a forgotten issue. The role of the media have been identified as important to the continuity of such programmes and to hold government accountable for areas where they have given citizens false hope and have failed. The media are saddled with the responsibility of promoting development policies and winning the acceptance of the citizenry for such policies. Thus, the media should shift from traditional journalism to development journalism; government and relevant agencies should make information accessible to the media to help them fulfil their watchdog role and stringent measures should be put in place to ensure that only qualified people benefit from such programmes. Above all, government is continuous and poverty alleviation programmes irrespective of the originator should be continuous too.