| Summary: | Infrastructure poverty and poor service delivery that characterise rural spaces are more evident in developing countries. In Nigeria, tackling the exclusionary practices in rural service delivery is dependent on the responsiveness of numerous stakeholders. In this study, planners and political office holders are identified to be critical to rural service delivery. Based on ten interviews, two FGD, and geospatial data, collected from eleven rural communities in Oyo State, Nigeria, the aim of the study is to examine the governance of rural service delivery in Oyo State, Nigeria. Findings show that households children traveled more than one hour to school. However, distance disparity existed between peri-urban villages closer to capital city (1.8 km), villages in secondary or lesser towns (1.2 km) and rural villages (6.9 km). The study concluded that planning and local politics in sampled communities are diametrically opposed on the public interest and common good of rural dwellers. Recommendations were made for planning to be more rural-oriented, and inclusive of the spatially excluded rural residents. This is because the need for a more participatory and responsive rural governance towards achieving inclusion in service delivery will promote national rather than urban development.
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