Citizen participation is a very critical aspect of the development process of any community. Botes and van Resensburg (2000) assert that “participatory development is essential to the community development process”. This is perhaps because community development itself is expected to bring an improvement in the standard of living of community members, and not necessarily the initiators or implementers of the community development project if they are from outside the community. beneficiary community. Therefore, it makes perfect sense that the people for whom the project is designed are involved in the decision-making process, from the initial needs assessment phase to the implementation and execution stages. More so, citizen participation in the development process that concerns them ensures rapid development and creates a sense of importance and ownership, which ultimately translates into commitment and also contributes to capacity building. The World Bank in 1996 proposed some reasons for community participation, including: community members have real knowledge of their felt needs and are also aware of what solution would or would not work; participation creates a feeling of importance and “ownership” which results in increased commitment to community development programs and projects. This also helps build capacity among members, which in turn increases available human resources; and that it bridges the gap between professionals and community members, with each group learning from the other. The reasons thus listed are indicative of the fact that when the people for whom a project is intended are sidelined, in terms of being given the opportunity to participate in decision making...... middle of document.. .... fully executed and supported community development projects in Oredo Local Government Council. That being said, the question then becomes: do citizens really know the importance of participating in community development processes? To what extent are citizens involved in the decision-making and development processes that concern them? Considering the above-mentioned importance of citizen participation in community development processes, particularly as they relate to them - environmentally, socio-political, economic or otherwise, this article has sought to resolve the issues raised, in order to determine the reason(s) behind the success or failure of most projects launched by the government, even if they first shed light on the meaning and relevance of community development, as well as the principles of participation of community citizens