Developmental local government challenges and progress in. The abolition of local government revenue sources in 2003 had a significant negative impact on local government revenue collections. The current number of local government in nigeria is 774. Statistically, the population of japan is ageing faster than anywhere else in the world. C where, is the method of dividing powers so that the central and regional governments are each, within a sphere, coordinate and independent. Assessment of relationship between state and local. Local government administration in nigeria and community. Local government autonomy and development of localities in nigeria. Curiously, the 1999 constitution of the federal republic of nigeria, which accorded local governments a third tier status, also made provision for the state local government joint account system. The 1976 local government reform in nigeria made local government as a third tier of government. The three regional governments enacted the northern, western and eastern nigeria local government laws of 1954 respectively. Brief history of local government in nigeria legit.
Local government and fiscal autonomy for local government in. Section 7 9 of 1997 constitution provides that legislative powers of local government shall be vested in the local government council. Assessment of relationship between state and local government. Their abilities are usually very restricted by the central government. Nov 19, 2019 the local government is the third tier of government. So far the local government system in nigeria has not been stable and thus its future remains bleak, uncertain and insecure. Proceeding from theoretical framework and conceptualizations for clearer understanding, the paper discusses some dominant autonomy issues. I am online and ready to help you via whatsapp chat. 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. What is the problem of local governments and solutions in. Local government service commission and challenges of. The state government sometimes delay payments to the local government areas and in most cases do not remit the complete 20.
The constitution serves as a supreme law of the country and any other. Many reasons, ranging from the political to the socioeconomic, have been given for the creation of 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. One of such challenges is the dwindling revenue base of local government councils. South africa is a unitary state, with some federal elements of selfgovernance in. Revision accepted 26, june 2009 abstract the topical issue of local government lg autonomy in nigeria in relation to the development of. This means that local government has legislative powers just like the federal and state governments. 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. Challenges of managing local government finance in nigeria. 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. Challenges of local government administration in nigeria. In nigeria, one of the main objectives for the introduction of the local government administration, as the third tier of government, is to ensure adequate provision of municipal infrastructure. The core points in the 1976 reforms were as follows. Nov 05, 2018 the main objective of the study is to examine the reason for lack of local government autonomy in nigeria, taking oyun local government as a case study.
Local government and fiscal autonomy for local government. There is thus, the need to grant local government areas full autonomy as well as increase its funding as it would help to enhance grass root participation in the development of nigeria. 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. The reforms granted local government autonomy by empowering them to control their affairs. The challenges of leadership and governance in africa afegbua, salami issa department of public administration, faculty of management sciences, lagos state university, ojo, lagos state, nigeria adejuwon, kehinde david department of public administration, faculty of management sciences, lagos state university, ojo, lagos state, nigeria. Local government administration in nigeria and the localist theory. What are the reasons for the creation of local government in nigeria. These include representative lgs, the size of lgs, revenue, and personnel. Department of public administration ahmadu bello university, kongocampus, zaria kaduna state, nigeria. Local government service commission and challenges of local.
It was created to bring government closer to the grassroots and give the people a sense of belonging. It is important to note that the federal government has over the years joined in ensuring that the local government have its autonomy. The way forward igbokweibeto, chinyeaka justine department of public administration, faculty of management sciences lagos state university, ojo nigeria abstract project monitoring and evaluation are important components of local government councils. The 1976 local government reform fixes the population of a local government not less than 150,000 and not more than 800, 000. Since the 1976 local government reforms that were undertaken to strengthen the local system in nigeria, several challenges have cropped up, over the years, to impede the performance of local government councils in the discharge of their constitutionally assigned responsibilities. The challenges of leadership and governance in africa. This study seeks to provide cursory analysis and assessment of issues in the performance of local government units in the philippines in. This article explores the driving forces behind local government autonomy. Autonomy of local government and the place of the 4th tier government community government councils in nigerias vision 20. 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.
Within this system, functions are locally and directly executed by. The former president, olusegun obasanjo in a meeting with the 774 local governments council chairmen in nigeria, acknowledge the thwarting of local government revenue by some state governments. Findings from this study will be useful for government and the general public in the area administration, centralization and decentralization. The quest or agitation for local government autonomy has been a recurring decimal in the evolution of the nigerian federation. Many reasons, ranging from the political to the socioeconomic. The chapter also discusses the nature and the challenges of local government in the fourth republic with special reference to lagos state. The paper, therefore, suggests a new focus in which the emphasis should be on the desirability or otherwise of substantial autonomy for. There are so many problems facing this tier which we shall discuss. Home list of education project topics and materials pdf challenges and prospects of local government reforms in nigeria.
Reacting to issues on local government autonomy, president muhammadu buhari said, apparently, it is corruption that led to the. 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 paper. Local government administration in nigeria and the. Local administration in nigeria has passed the four distinct stages of development. The historical background of local government administration in nigeria was examined. The local government is the third tier of government.
The history of local government system in nigeria dates back to the colonial days. Local government in nigeria faces series of critical challenges like creating critical social services and how to sustain them. The local government service commission has been empowered to handle staff matters. Zever abstract the focus of the paper is on autonomy induced governance problems of local government. Local government autonomy news latest breaking stories. Although contact with europeans dates back to the fifteenth century, it was not until 1861 before the first steps were taken to establish an administration by britain. Politics and challenges of the 1999 constitution asaju, k.
While the rest of the chapter proffers remedial actions for future agitations for local government creation in nigeria. 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. No nation can boast of excellent performance within the public. Local government authorities lgas were jeopardized fjeldstad, 2004. Local government administration in nigeria has been in existence since 1972 and its primary function is to bring government nearer to. It is interesting to note that even the federal government has in recent times joined in championing the course of local government autonomy. Local government autonomy and development of localities in. The main objective of the study is to examine the reason for lack of local government autonomy in nigeria, taking oyun local government as a case study. Coping with an ageing population perhaps the most formidable task facing japan is how to cope with its ageing population. To examine the extent of the autonomy as well as the factors inhibiting the effectiveness of local government autonomy and the forms of control. 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 autonomy of local governments and the place of the 4th. Issues and problems in decentralization and local autonomy. These local governments do not have a lot of rights and most of its decisions are made according to the central governments rules.
This report an outcome of an expert group meeting held on the challenge of local government financing in developing countries documents both the challenges and solutions related to the ability of local governments to mobilize revenues from local resources. The process of democratizing local government administration started as far back as 1954. Local government autonomy as an imperative for true. The significance of this study was therefore to observe the autonomy of local government in nigeria with challenges they are facing and how they can overcome these challenges. Local government administration in nigeria and the localist. 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. Chapter 3 the challenges facing local government new approaches to regionai problems 1. 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. The paper canvassed the need for synergy and collaborative approach to community development and reform initiatives anchored on theory to practice policy inclination. The report also identifies successful governance mechanisms for efficient.
In all, there are 774 local governments in nigeria including the four area councils in abuja. According to franzsen and semboja 2004, prior to rationalization of taxes, 20 percent of local governments own. Exploring the nexus jide ibietan1, peter ndukwe2 abstract the main objective of this paper is to examine the nature and challenges of local government administration in nigeria using the localist theory as framework of analysis. C where, is the method of dividing powers so that the central and regional governments are each, within a. The state of local government and service delivery in.