Local government and fiscal autonomy for local government. 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. Brief history of local government in nigeria legit. 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. 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. The 1976 local government reform fixes the population of a local government not less than 150,000 and not more than 800, 000.
Primary education administration in nigeria in the phase of self governance of local government as the agitation for local government autonomy is on going in the country by the national union of local government employees nulge. 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. It is a subordinate government, which derives its existence and power from law enacted by a superior government. This is with a view to understanding the intricacies of the fundamental problem of local government autonomy in nigeria. Local government autonomy news latest breaking stories. Abstract local governments are not sovereign unlike independent nation states.
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. Olowu says local government should have some degree of. Pdf local government autonomy and its effectiveness in nigeria. 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. Intergovernmental financial relations and local government. 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.
The quest or agitation for local government autonomy has been a recurring decimal in the evolution of the nigerian federation. Local government and intergovernmental relations in. During babangida regime 19841992 there were certain measures aimed at ensuring local government autonomy. 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. Intergovernmental financial relations and local government autonomy in nigeria. Local government autonomy and primary school education. Abstract local governments are not sovereign unlike independent nationstates. The scope and future of local government autonomy in nigeria.
The local councils can hardly be developmental, just as they are practically tied to the apron strings of the state by the constitution. The 1976 local government reform in nigeria made local government as a third tier of government. 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. 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. Former president olusegun obasanjo has described state governments still opposing the local government autonomy bill already passed by the national assembly as. The nature and structure of transactions or interactions between the three tiers of government determine the degree of autonomy. Local governments are not sovereign unlike independence nationstate. Introduction the existence of local government has always been defended on the basis that it is a crucial aspect of the process of democratization and intensification of mass participation in the decisionmaking process. 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. The autonomy concept which is defined in the european charter of local self government as the right and opportunity for the local governments within the limits laid down by the laws to. Local government autonomy in nigeria s polity the term local government autonomy is perceived as local self government or grassroots democracy. It defines primary education, educational administration and. These include the abolition of the ministry of local government.
The researcher used questionnaires as the instrument for the data collection. In other words, what are the defining characteristics of local government autonomy. Local government and fiscal autonomy for local government in. 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.
They are in fact political structures that have increasingly become sad and forceful reminders of the systematic. Pdf on may 31, 2018, ahmed wali doho and others published local government autonomy in nigeria. What are the reasons for the creation of local government in nigeria. Notably, the dubious state and local government joint account has. 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. So far the local government system in nigeria has not been stable and thus its future remains bleak, uncertain and insecure. 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.
He said that the characteristics of this federal principle are the division of powers among levels. 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. It is a matter of polemics if local governments in nigeria are raising sufficient revenue. 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. The total population for the study is 200 staff of ofu local government of kogi state. In all, there are 774 local governments in nigeria including the four area councils in abuja.
But our choice of definition will be those that are of relevance to the contemporary nigerian local government system. Section 7 9 of 1997 constitution provides that legislative powers of local government shall be vested in the local government council. This study is on nigeria federalism and local government autonomy. Under the constitution of nigeria, the sjlga is a special account maintained by each state government into which shall be paid allocations to the local. 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. Local administration in nigeria has passed the four distinct stages of development.
Local government in nigeria is rooted on historical antecedents of reforms. Pdf local government autonomy and its effectiveness in. 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. 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. The current number of local government in nigeria is 774. An apparisal of the autonomy of local government as a. Descriptive survey research design was adopted for this study. This means that local government has legislative powers just like the federal and state governments. It started from the precolonial era 1945 of administration where the kings, chiefs and elders held sway over the governance of. This paper examined the utility of the local government autonomy as a. Local government and intergovernmental relations in nigerias fourth republic. The paper will also examine some of the inherent factors inhibiting local government autonomy in nigeria.
Local government administration in nigeria has been in existence since 1972 and its primary function is to bring government nearer to. The crisis of local government autonomy in nigeria is a recurrent issue. Many reasons, ranging from the political to the socioeconomic. Federal principle and local government autonomy in nigeria. The process of democratizing local government administration started as far back as 1954. Local government autonomy will benefit all nigerians. It is important to note that the federal government has over the years joined in.
It is a subordinate government, which derives its existence. 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 service commission has been empowered to handle staff matters. Pdf local government lg is an intermediary player between the federal authority and the grassroots in a given society. Why local governments should be given autonomy vanguard news. The role of local government in rural development issues. How much autonomy this third tier of government possesses is unclear and uncertain to the extent that it engenders the problem of measurement. Local government autonomy in nigeria kamlaraj enterprises. 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.
An overview of local government autonomy and its functions in nigeria by adam a. The main objective of the study is to intellectualize local government autonomy from a new perspective from the ones in extant literature. Local government administration has been faced with series of developmental and economic. It is on record that public views on the amendment of the 1999 constitution were majorly in favour of local government autonomy. Local government autonomy bill news latest breaking. The topical issue of local government lg autonomy in nigeria in relation to the development of the localities, the raison detre of lgs, has been examined in this. Financial autonomy for local governments the sun nigeria.
593 1599 1425 691 89 367 103 951 1077 619 1370 753 54 1611 343 363 1369 3 1354 1546 535 187 1526 39 1459 428 804 679 630 120 555 520 1540 357 1190 487 1111 1300 283 1398 1103 527 1273 299