Autonomy of local government and the place of the 4th tier government community government councils in nigerias vision 20. The crisis of local government autonomy in nigeria is a recurrent issue. The place and role of local government in federal systems konrad. The politics of local government in nigeria reloaded has been inspired by the 20 constitution amendment process initiated by the national assembly. It is a subordinate government, which derives its existence and power from law enacted by a superior government. Intergovernmental financial relations and local government. In all, there are 774 local governments in nigeria including the four area councils in abuja. An apparisal of the autonomy of local government as a. The quest or agitation for local government autonomy has been a recurring decimal in the evolution of the nigerian federation. The nature and structure of transactions or interactions between the three tiers of government determine the degree of autonomy. Local governments are the nearest government of the people at the grassroots in nigeria and they are expected to play frontier role to the national development of.
The scope and future of local government autonomy in nigeria. Local government autonomy news latest breaking stories. Obviously, compared to a state governor, it is easier to hold the local government chairperson to account. Local government autonomy bill news latest breaking. Olowu says local government should have some degree of. However, it does appear that the various reforms and the practice of local governments in nigeria over the years have tended to remove much of the autonomy granted this level of government. To appreciate this section, it is necessary to operationalize the key concept in the discourse autonomy. How much autonomy this third tier of government possesses is unclear and uncertain to the extent that it engenders the problem of measurement. Also, with the use of indepth interviewed, it has been observed that undue interference of state government in local affair, corruption among local government official etc. Notably, the dubious state and local government joint account has. Local government and fiscal autonomy for local government. Federalism in nigeria and local government autonomy. It also discusses the rationale for the creation of local governments, election into local government councils, local government autonomy, structural and institutional innovations in nigeria.
Nigeria is a federation, with three tiers of government. This means that local government has legislative powers just like the federal and state governments. Local government in nigeria is rooted on historical antecedents of reforms. The politics of local government autonomy in nigeria reloaded felix akpan, phd okonette ekanem department of public administration, university of calabar, nigeria abstract the politics of local government in nigeria reloaded has been inspired by the 20 constitution amendment process initiated by the national assembly.
Why local governments should be given autonomy vanguard news. This is with a view to understanding the intricacies of the fundamental problem of local government autonomy in nigeria. Local government autonomy as an imperative for true. C wheare, is the method of dividing powers so that the central and regional governments are each, within a sphere, coordinate and independent. The 1976 local government reform in nigeria made local government as a third tier of government. The 1976 local government reforms was the third in the series of the local government reforms ever contemplated in the history of nigeria local government. Nigeria and switzerland, local government has been entrenched. During babangida regime 19841992 there were certain measures aimed at ensuring local government autonomy. It is important to note that the federal government has over the years joined in. An overview of local government autonomy and its functions in nigeria by adam a. The process of democratizing local government administration started as far back as 1954. The major challenge bedeviling the operations of local government area in nigeria is local government autonomy as local government areas in nigeria are not truly autonomous. Since the inception of the system of local government in nigeria, there had been persistent clamour for the autonomy of the local government as the third tier of. Local government autonomy in nigeria kamlaraj enterprises.
I think that was a right move, otherwise nigerias wahala will multiply if the 774 local government councils are granted autonomy because they will take corruption to the next level, said. He said that the characteristics of this federal principle are the division of powers among levels. Section 7 9 of 1997 constitution provides that legislative powers of local government shall be vested in the local government council. The nature and challenges of local government administration in nigeria local government is the system of political decentralisation in which the power base of decision making is, to a great extent, not national but local. However, despite this public verdict, those in positions of authority in the country have, for selfish reasons, continued to frustrate attempts to grant autonomy to local governments. Against this background, this work examines federal principle and local government autonomy in nigeria to find out what has went wrong. Local government autonomy and development of localities in. Local government autonomy and development of localities in nigeria. The nigeria union of local government employees nulge south west zone, said the approval of local government autonomy will help put an end to the security challenges in most of the rural. Intergovernmental financial relations and local government autonomy in nigeria. Introduction since the inception of the system of local government in nigeria, there had been persistent clamour for the autonomy of the local government as the third tier of governance in the federation.
The three regional governments enacted the northern, western and eastern nigeria local government laws of 1954 respectively. Using desk research and interview methods, the findings show that in both old and new federations. Local administration in nigeria has passed the four distinct stages of development. Model and determinants of statelocal governments relations in. The 1976 local government reform fixes the population of a local government not less than 150,000 and not more than 800, 000. Department of local government studies, faculty of administration, obafemi. Financial autonomy for local governments the sun nigeria.
The local councils can hardly be developmental, just as they are practically tied to the apron strings of the state by the constitution. Nigeria cannot be an exception to this global norm. The agitations surrounding the string of affairs in our local government system is beginning to take shape courtesy of the government of president muhammadu buhari. Local government autonomy will benefit all nigerians. The paper will also examine some of the inherent factors inhibiting local government autonomy in nigeria. The local government service commission has been empowered to handle staff matters. Pdf his paper undertook a historical overview of the development of the local government system in nigeria, especially from 1950, when nigeria became. They are in fact political structures that have increasingly become sad and forceful reminders of the systematic.
The main objective of the study is to intellectualize local government autonomy from a new perspective from the ones in extant literature. Therefore, the starting point of this paper is that local government autonomy is often presented as a magic bullet that can address a wide variety of different problems in local service delivery. Reacting to issues on local government autonomy, president muhammadu buhari said, apparently, it is corruption that led to the relegation of local governments to the grip of state governments. Since the inception of the system of local government in nigeria, there had been persistent clamour for the autonomy of the local government as the third tier of governance in the federation. Rather than a debate on local government autonomy, we should be asking whether we need states. Many reasons, ranging from the political to the socioeconomic. Local government administration in nigeria and the. Description nigerian federalism and local government autonomy 8 pages chapter one.
The worst violations of the autonomy of local councils however. The granting of financial autonomy to the 774 local governments in nigeria through the operation of the newly established nigerian financial intelligence unit nfiu is, perhaps, the first time genuine and creative step is being taken in the fight against corruption by the present administration. The local government areas in nigeria have however, not been very effective due to the fact that they are very much dependent on the state government. Brief history of local government in nigeria legit. Local governments are not sovereign unlike independence nationstate. In nigeria, since the 1976 local government reform, and subsequent. In other words, what are the defining characteristics of local government autonomy. To make the local government areas viable and functional within the federation called nigeria, i suggest that rather than continue to toy with the impracticable idea of autonomy, the constitution should be amended by the appropriate authorities to divest the state governments of the powers to conduct local government elections. An evaluation with abstract, chapter 15, references and questionnaire. The autonomy of local governments and the place of the 4th. Within this system, functions are locally and directly executed by. It is on record that public views on the amendment of the 1999 constitution were majorly in favour of local government autonomy. The nigeria union of local government employees nulge said only nine states have so far voted in support of local government autonomy in the ongoing effort to amend the constitution.
These include the abolition of the ministry of local government. So far the local government system in nigeria has not been stable and thus its future remains bleak, uncertain and insecure. The current number of local government in nigeria is 774. Irrespective of the nature and extent of flaws that may characterise local government autonomy in principle and practice in nigeria, it has, for fairly some time. What are the reasons for the creation of local government in nigeria. The nigeria union of local government employees nulge has said the aim of the agitation for local government autonomy is to free the third tier of government from the control of state. Local government and fiscal autonomy for local government in. It started from the precolonial era 1945 of administration where the kings, chiefs and elders held sway over the governance of. One of the arguments in favour of local governments is for the simple reason of accountability. The first epoch took place from 1946 to 1966, the second epoch lasted from 1967 to 1976, and the final stage started from 1976 and exists till date. Pdf local government autonomy and its effectiveness in.
1135 927 935 1464 228 1141 687 824 1289 1204 650 437 388 845 256 449 751 606 1333 1029 851 239 1451 1116 1529 344 74 326 298 529 469 1275 836 299 1310 1149 200 388 673