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It was, initially, Local government affair, particu- lar in during the colonial period and the first
Republic. Reforms were introduced but were characterized with some challenges. In each of these
cases, the Local Government Chairmen, in some states of the federation, had picked up the gauntlet.
But the two superior levels of government do interfere. 1) Regulatory role that LGs perform include
the control of certain social activities such as vigilante, sales of alcohol, en- vironmental exercise and
night parties etc. Although there was con- stitutional impediment to conducting Local Government
elec- tion during this period the State governments could have seized the advantage of State
Electoral Commissions under their con- trol if they were not benefiting from the absence of elected
councils (Ayoade, 1995). These traditions are colonialism, civilian administration and the military.
Sunday Tribune, 6 April 2001, 9-11. Oji, C. (2009) Council in crisis over removal of leader. The
foregoing nevertheless, not much intellectual efforts have been deployed in examining the local
government autonomy as a vehicle for redressing inordinate usurpation of powers of local
governments by state governments in grassroots politics in the country. Sunday Times, 19 August
2001, 1-2. Nwosu, H. N. (1986). Intergovernmental relations in Nigeria. Thirdly, the traditional or
emirate councils that were placed above the Local Governments were to be maintained with
financial contributions from Local Governments. Colonialism Until 1945, the educated elite were
completely excluded from local governance, leaving the traditional rulers, most of whom were
barely literate, to dominate the affairs of Local Government. This is more so where there is
ineffective com- munication system. Keywords: Local Government; Autonomy; Revenue; Federation
Account; Deductions Introduction Across these three epochs—colonial, independent and post
independent—variants of Local Government in Nigeria exer- cised some degrees of autonomy.
Branch managers have full autonomy in their own areas. But rather than the States to determine this
as stipulated by the 1976 Local Government reform, Federal government took it up upon herself and
mandated every Loca l Government to make 5% of their federal allocations available for the
maintenance of the traditional rulers in their respective areas of Jurisdiction (Ola- supo, 2001). But
through cumbersome proce- dures or avoidable bureaucracies, the Military and Civilian Governors,
the Presidents and commanders-in-Chiefs, under- mined this autonomy. The constitution of the
country recognizes this as such. Increasing re- sponsibilities from both the Federal and State
governments to the Local Governments without increasing corresponding funds to match, further
explains the rationale behind these complaints. For instance, all decisions on revenue generation are
controlled by the center and the vertical revenue allocation is structurally inclined toward the federal
government, which negates the tenets of federalism and hence; grossly affects the capability of both
the state and the local government to exercisefi nancial autonomy. Thirdly, the Federal government
under the civilian dis- pensation made deductions from Local Governments’ federally and monthly
allocated revenue to maintain external debt ser- vicing (Olasupo, 2001). Arising from this severance,
a separate council known as traditional council or emirate council was created for the traditional
rulers. It is established that the practice of local government in the country shows a departure from
the position of the classical theory possibly because of the prolonged military rule and undemocratic
attitude of the state governors who treat that level of government as an extension of their states.
Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, as amended, provides for establishment of an
independent local government system that have some necessary and specific assignments to perform.
The political man- date so directly received from the whole electorate was a con- scious emulation of
that at the State and Federal levels. In all therefore, coloni- alism, military and the civilian epochs
have impacted greatly (and mostly negatively) on LG’s autonomy. The paper further argued that, in
spite of the useful potentials of local government autonomy, the need to check against the inordinate
usurpation of powers of local governments by state governments demands a multi-faceted approach
in its implementation as it affects both tiers of governments in Nigeria. Less than a month thereafter,
at a plenary session of the council held on 29 th September 2009 at the chamber, Iju Areas office, a
legislative member, “H on Babajide Atala, moved the motion that the House revert to the status quo”
(Okwuofo, 2009). Lack of any of these, diminishes the autonomy of Local government because each
has different contents that enhances or diminishes local autonomy. OIDA International Journal of
Sustainable Development, 2, 60. Olasupo, F. A. (2004). A critique of the role of the environmental
sani- tation task force on the monthly e nvironmental sanitation programme in 14 local governments
in Nigeria. Sovereignty Section 14 subsection 2A of the 1999 constitution says “Sovereignty belongs
to the people of Nigeria from whom the government derives its author ity and power” (Fawehinmi,
2001).
Colonialism Until 1945, the educated elite were completely excluded from local governance, leaving
the traditional rulers, most of whom were barely literate, to dominate the affairs of Local
Government. To this end, the paper suggested additional ways of facilitating the achievement of this
objective. 1. Introduction The scholarly discourse and investigation in constitutional studies and
federalism, particularly in respect of local government autonomy, is engendered mainly by the
overbearing powers of the state and sometimes lack of elected executive chairmen at the grassroots.
By this arrangement however, LG Chairmen have acquired Executive authorities required of Chief
Execu- tive at the local level in line with the spirits of 1976 Reforms, the 1979 Constitution and the
Dasuki Report of 1984 (Gboyega, 1996). Thirdly, the consenting authorities of the Military
Governors turned out to be strangulating hold on the Local Government Chairmen since their final
appointments were made by the Governors. Geographic Distance Geographic distance as a factor in
Local Government auto- nomy has to do with the situation where there are hundreds of kilometers
between the Local Governments headquarters and the neighboring towns and villages that constitute
the Local Governments. Federations all over the world can be categorized into two—young and old.
Such case studies have revealed various interventions, such as informal settlement transformation,
renewable energy integration, and urban regeneration. On the long run, “the council boss re- portedly
invited the le ader (Ajibo) to his office on Monday and asked him to resign his position in the council
(Orji, 2009). It is established that the practice of local government in the country shows a departure
from the position of the classical theory possibly because of the prolonged military rule and
undemocratic attitude of the state governors who treat that level of government as an extension of
their states. More importantly, the 1988 application of the Civil Service Reform to LG service stated
categorically that the Chairmen were the Chief Executives and Accounting Officers of the Lo- cal
Governments (Olasupo, 2001). The constitution of the country recognizes this as such. Others from
other parts of the country such as Zamfara, Niger, Kano, Rivers, Enugu,Anambra, Kwara and Akwa
Ibom states who were impeached were: Solomon Kogi, Aliu Ikara, Aliu Wara, Smaila Gurijian,Mina
Cleve Tende, Sunday Anyanwa, Ben Onyin, Chuks Anah, Etheobi Okpala, Emmanuel Ebe, Opaknte
Jackreese, Me. Related to LGs’ heavy reliance on external source of revenue is the irregular supply of
thes e statutory funds. State and Local Governments ar e not permitted by Federal governments to
have State or Local police. In Ogun state, it took the intervention of the state Governor, Chief
Olusegun Osoba, before the restive Local government Chairmen could allow the jeeps to be
distributed to Divisional police officers in the state (Olasupo, 2001). Governments in Nigeria in the
first Republic: Systems and Structures. To ensure a systematic approach to tackling these issues, they
are discussed under several headings. Control of the flow of information is the tool of the
dictatorship.”. Notwithstanding these three deferent sources of revenue-local, state and
federal—financial autonomy of Local Governments continues to wane. Despite public expectations
that ushered in the creations of extension of governance closer to the people, the practice of local
governance in Nigeria failed to bring the much-expected dividend of democracy to the grassroots.
Rather, the Governor was prevailed upon to provide the police with vans as alterna- tive, while the
jeeps were distributed among themselves (Chair- men) (Olasupo, 2001). These accomplishments
were possible partly because they internally raised the revenues from which they funded the services
that they provided. Environtropica: An International Journal of the Tropical Environment, 1, 152.
Olasupo, F. A. (2001). Evolution of local government in Nigeria from independence to date. Related
to LGs’ heavy reliance on external source of revenue is the irregular supply of thes e statutory funds.
More importantly is the increase in the share of LGs revenue from the Federation Account, first from
10% to 15% in 1991 and then to twenty percent. These vari eties of undermines were given voice
and recognition by the 1999 Constitution that not only wiped off the autonomy of Local
Governments but also laid the basis for the series of confusions—creation and tenure of
LGs—which Local Governments in the country were facing to- day. To facilitate good governance,
the Nigerian state is politically structured into three governmental tiers: the federal, the state and the
local government. The conceptual framework and rationale for local government autonomy are
discussed in the next section. But it could not. Things which “government” at the local level in
Nigeria does can be categorized in to three: 1) regulatory role, 2) provision of social services and 3)
legislative functions. For a long time, the council could not sit to bring this about.
The Senate posi- tion was that the business of creating Local Government is between the community
seeking such council, the State House of Assembly and the National Assembly. The paper further
argued that, in spite of the useful potentials of local government autonomy, the need to check against
the inordinate usurpation of powers of local governments by state governments demands a multi-
faceted approach in its implementation as it affects both tiers of governments in Nigeria. All these
led to significant loss in the autonomy of Local Government system throughout the country. Added
to this is the pervasive corrupt environment and administrative bottlenecks under which the local
government administration in Nigeria is subjected. Similar scenario is witnessed in other developing
countries. Such appointed or nominated Local Chief Executives come under different appellations
such as “Sole Administrator”, “Council Manager System”, “Care- taker Committee”, and “Electoral
College or Cabinet System” (Olasupo, 2001). In collaboration with the Federal Ministry of
Intergovernmental Re- lations (States and Local Government) in the presidency (p. 25). Ikeja: Pure
Language Communication. Olasupo, F. A. (1995) an assessment of the democratic features of the
various local government reforms in Nigeria. Calabar Local Govern- ment is a good example here
(Olasupo, 1995). But both LGs have now been broken down into smaller Local Government. This
was partly due to some internal shortcomings within the local councils and partly due to some
critical external factors like constitutional inadequacies and usurpation of local government powers
by the governments of the federating units, under whom the the local governments operate. Lack of
any of these, diminishes the autonomy of Local government because each has different contents that
enhances or diminishes local autonomy. Increasing re- sponsibilities from both the Federal and State
governments to the Local Governments without increasing corresponding funds to match, further
explains the rationale behind these complaints. Self-serving reforms worsened a bad case scenario by
rendering this important system of government dependent on State Governments that played politics
with it. It has to do with Local Government as governmental entity separate from the two other
superior levels of government—State and Federal Governments. Colonialism Until 1945, the
educated elite were completely excluded from local governance, leaving the traditional rulers, most
of whom were barely literate, to dominate the affairs of Local Government. In conclusion, the paper
offers some important suggestions which can galvanize the fi scal capacity of the local government,
thereby transforming them into viable machineries of social service delivery at the grassroots. The
realization that Local Governments are corporate or statutory bodies emboldens some LGs to take
legal actions against the States and the Federal Government to protect their constitutional rights. It
then concludes with suggestions for possible solution. Secondly, since the Supervisory Councilors
were simi- larly elected by the councils, like the Chairmen, the latter’s coordinating powers were not
too great and had to depend, in Alex terms, “a great deal on their (LG chairmen) skills, the force of
their personalities and the voluntary cooperation of the Supervisory Councilors”. To free the Local
Government autonomy from the cum- bersome bureaucracies and constitutional impediments, there
is a need to re-e xamine the state of the Local Government system under the current proposition that
there should be a national conference. State encroachment into local government affairs and their
total control of the local councils by appointed committees who are loyalist to the State Governors
has thus triggered research works aimed at reversing such encroachment given the immense role that
can be played in grassroots politics by the local government. For instance, up to 1980, Kachia LG in
Kaduna state was the largest in Nigeria. By their operational structure, Local Governments are
conceived to play a decisive role in the lives of ordinary citizens who have littlechance of making
contact with the State or distantFederal Government tiers of public administration. The paper
contended that the growing demand for an autonomous local government system holds great promise
in this direction in that, it will help to strengthen the powers of local governments and make them
focus on grassroots politics than being a stooge to the state; a situation which was driven by long
period of state governments tricks to ensure that the third tier government remains under their apron
strings. Starting from 1976 and until 1987, LG Chairmen throughout the country were elected by
Electoral College systems comprising the Councilors of whom they were parts. In short, according to
the Senate, section 8, subsection 3 of the 1999 constitution laid down the procedure to be followed
in carrying out such exer- cise which most States have not complied with (Tijani, 1998). This paper
attempts to reflect on the level of autonomy enjoyed by the local governments in Nigeria within the
context of the classical theory of federalism with a view to drawing lessons for the future. The
emergence of the military and its negative impact on not just Local Government but also State
governments and other governmental institutions had the following as it corollaries: “increased
centralization and nationalization of political author- ity, ascendancy of centripetal forces, greater
concentration of national wealth at the national level, greater leadership initia- tives by federal
government, and more dependency of the states and Local Governments on the federal government.
Local Gov- ernment autonomy could therefore be defined as the ability of the Local Government to
take some political, economic and social decisions without recourse to any of the two superstruc-
tures—State and Federal Governments. Before independ- ence, Local governments under Regional
governments had local police.
This paper examines the parlous state of the Local Government system in Nigeria today and proffers
some solutions on how the system can return to the gold standards that oncemade it relevant to the
citizens. Following Kaduna is Ondo state that has so far removed six LG chairmen: chief Dupe
Ogundiminegba (Ose LG); chief Gilbert Adepoju (Ondo East LG); chief Adedayo Adesida (Ondo
West LG); chief Siaka Olorunyomi (Odigbo LG); chief Ayeni Olayeye (Okiti pupa LG); and Dr.
Francis Ajih (Ese odo). Seminar paper (p. 3.). Ibadan: University of Ibadan Conferen ce Center.
Okwuofo, O. (2009). Council leader reinstated. It extracted data from existing literature on local
government, government documents and other secondary sources. These traditions are colonialism,
civilian administration and the military. In Ogun state, it took the intervention of the state Governor,
Chief Olusegun Osoba, before the restive Local government Chairmen could allow the jeeps to be
distributed to Divisional police officers in the state (Olasupo, 2001). The sce- nario in Ekiti state is a
perfect example of how elite collaborate to subvert and undermine institutions and the people in
general. A profound example of sham democracy at the local level in Nigeria between 1979 and 1983
was the replacement of elected councils that assume of- fice under military rule with unelected
management committees appointed by the civilian Governors for the entire duration of the Second
Republic (Gboyega, 1996). In some cases LG’s functions are hijacked completely by the state
governments. 3) Legislative functions of LGs as exercised by the council- ors in the present fourth
republic have been turned into weapon of undue control over the local executives. Self-serving
reforms worsened a bad case scenario by rendering this important system of government dependent
on State Governments that played politics with it. In addition, 10 percent of states’ internally
generated revenue is to be paid into the coffers of Local Governments (Oyediran, 1997). This article
aims at properly locating the role communication can play in promoting effective administration of
the Local Government in Cross River State of Nigeria. Sunday Times, 19 August 2001, 1-2. Nwosu,
H. N. (1986). Intergovernmental relations in Nigeria. You can download the paper by clicking the
button above. The paper, therefore, examines the historical development of local government in
Nigerian state. Despite public expectations that ushered in the creations of extension of governance
closer to the people, the practice of local governance in Nigeria failed to bring the much-expected
dividend of democracy to the grassroots. You can download the paper by clicking the button above.
Second is the deduction from the source from Local Government Federal allocations to purchase
jeeps, not for the Local governments but police divisions in all the councils of the federation. Where
the problem of geographic distance is not prop- erly addressed it could lead to lack of quick and
effective deci- sion making and implementation which could concomitantly impact on Local
Government autonomy. To browse Academia.edu and the wider internet faster and more securely,
please take a few seconds to upgrade your browser. These are a) political tradi- tion, b) finance, c)
geographic distance, d) local political initia- tive and leadership, and e) electoral realities (Wright,
1995). It has also been observed that the local government system serves as the most effective
avenue for delivering basic goods and services to local communities. The paper contended that the
growing demand for an autonomous local government system holds great promise in this direction in
that, it will help to strengthen the powers of local governments and make them focus on grassroots
politics than being a stooge to the state; a situation which was driven by long period of state
governments tricks to ensure that the third tier government remains under their apron strings. The
same for envi- ronmental exercise which was exclusive preserve of the Local Government. State
Governments are collaborators of the federal government on the venture of subverting the financial
auton- omy of the Local governments. It also highlights the need for comprehensive strategies to
build a prosperous, equitable, and eco-friendly city. But the two superior levels of government do
interfere. 1) Regulatory role that LGs perform include the control of certain social activities such as
vigilante, sales of alcohol, en- vironmental exercise and night parties etc. In Local Government and
Democracy: The Nigerian Experience (p. 81). Ile-Ife: Obafemi Awolowo University Press. Odesola,
T. (2000). Courts stops FG’s Deductions of LGs allocation. The Federal government now sends
allocations to the councils directly but only after series of deductions, diversions and delays without
the knowledge and consents of the Local Governments concerned. Other gross financial
improprieties, for which they were arrested, ranged from contract inflation, diversion of council fund
to acceptance of kickbacks on contracts awarded by them since the inception of the current Fourth
Republic that began on May 29, 1999 (Olasupo, 2001).
Analysis of Concepts Generally, three concepts attr act our attention here—Sover- eignty, Autonomy,
Local Government, and Local Government autonomy. As the Accounting officers, the spending
powers of the Chairmen were severely curtailed as individuals and as institu- tions by the same
reform that designated them the Chief Execu- tives and the Accounting Officers. Nigeria is a
federation, with three tiers of government; hence power is shared among its constituent units, which
are empowered to make policies and take decisions on certain matters, as well as share common
areas of interest with other institutions of government. Such appointed or nominated Local Chief
Executives come under different appellations such as “Sole Administrator”, “Council Manager
System”, “Care- taker Committee”, and “Electoral College or Cabinet System” (Olasupo, 2001). You
can download the paper by clicking the button above. Ostrom is therefore correct in saying that
“when outside revenue sources are relied upon, fewer incentives to be efficient are present”
(Olasupo, 2001). All these led to significant loss in the autonomy of Local Government system
throughout the country. This loop hole was however seized upon by the State governments to force
LGs to make central purch ases which further reinforced the erosion of LGs autonomies; regardless
of the introduction of the presidential system to the Local Government level and the power to pass
the LGs budgets (Gboyega, 1995). The fact that LG has become a tier of government arose the need
to ensure its fiscal autonomy like other levels of govern- ment. 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. How much autonomy this third tier of government
possesses is unclear and uncertain to the extent that it engenders the problem of meas- urement.
Secondly, the c ouncil could elect a Chairman from its own membership but such election would be
subjected to ratification by the State Governor (Olasupo, 2001). Not surprisingly, it has been
subjected to various critical assessments. The extent to which these roles are performed without
interference from two other levels of government, measure the genuine Local Gov- ernment
autonomy. One, major impor- tant traditional rulers, especially in the Northern States, con- tinue to
wield considerable in fluence on local administration. Technically therefore, the governmental power
of Local Go- vernment is under erosion; and so is its autonomy. Similar scenario is witnessed in other
developing countries. The Senate posi- tion was that the business of creating Local Government is
between the community seeking such council, the State House of Assembly and the National
Assembly. Thirdly, the traditional or emirate councils that were placed above the Local Governments
were to be maintained with financial contributions from Local Governments. General’s of the states
and that of the federal government, it was unanimously agreed that the powers to create and deter-
mine the tenure of Local Governments belonged to the State Governments but the Senate ruled
otherwise. NATIONAL GOVERNMENT STATE GOVERNMENTS Congress STATE COURT
Admi n Agencies Agencies Elected Appointed State House of Assembly State Legislature Executive
Chairman Dependent Customary Court Admi n Agencies Elected Appointed Local Legislative
Council Local Legislature LOCAL GOVERNMENTS Governors T.R Figure 2. Constitutional
independence of Local government from state and federal government in the second republic up to
date. But both LGs have now been broken down into smaller Local Government. This study
furthermore examines the local government system under various constitutions and draft-
constitutions since 1979, guidelines, decrees and laws. Local authorities and NGOs have
implemented sustainable urban development initiatives, including transport upgrades, green space
promotion, waste management, and housing solutions. Keywords: Local Government; Autonomy;
Revenue; Federation Account; Deductions Introduction Across these three epochs—colonial,
independent and post independent—variants of Local Government in Nigeria exer- cised some
degrees of autonomy. To free the Local Government autonomy from the cum- bersome bureaucracies
and constitutional impediments, there is a need to re-e xamine the state of the Local Government
system under the current proposition that there should be a national conference. To strengthen their
financial autonomy for optimum performance, funds were set aside for local governments from the
Federation Account. The paper contended that the growing demand for an autonomous local
government system holds great promise in this direction in that, it will help to strengthen the powers
of local governments and make them focus on grassroots politics than being a stooge to the state; a
situation which was driven by long period of state governments tricks to ensure that the third tier
government remains under their apron strings. But under the current civilian admini- stration, State
governments are in charge; dictating to Local Governments what to do and not ought to do (Olasupo,
2004). 2) Social services delivery is however the most conflicting area in which most Local
Governments often clash with their state governments particularly where such services are revenue
yielding type e.g. market administration and refuse disposal. To facilitate good governance, the
Nigerian state is politically structured into three governmental tiers: the federal, the state and the
local government.
Key Words: Ghana, Political Decentralization, Participation, District Assembly. This is strange and
asymmetrical to place tradi- tional or emirate council over and above the Local Government councils;
given the fact that the LGs not only maintain the tra- ditional councils but also, in Alex terms, are
the sole statutory organ of development at the local level. This was therefore a significant departure
from the old order where the primary constituencies of the Chairmen were their various wards. In the
extreme, says Ostrom, reliance on external sources seriously reduces the autonomy of Local
government as it turns it into administrative sub-unit of a State or the Federal Government.
Download Free PDF View PDF See Full PDF Download PDF Loading Preview Sorry, preview is
currently unavailable. State Governments are collaborators of the federal government on the venture
of subverting the financial auton- omy of the Local governments. This action of the Association of
Local Government in Nigeria (ALGON) and that of the Federal government was interpreted as
robbing Peter to pay Paul. How much autonomy this third tier of government possesses is unclear
and uncertain to the extent that it engenders the problem of meas- urement. Governments in Nigeria
in the first Republic: Systems and Structures. In Local government in Nigeria and the United States:
Learning from comparison (p. 9). Ile-Ife: Local Government Publi- cation Series, Department of
Local Government Studies, Faculty of Administration, Obafem i Awolowo University. Mumeh, P.
(2001) States cant’s creating LGs. This study examines critically the opportunities and problems,
which confront the Nigerian local government system in its efforts to establish itself as a true tier of
government. OIDA International Journal of Sustainable Development, 2, 60. Olasupo, F. A. (2004).
A critique of the role of the environmental sani- tation task force on the monthly e nvironmental
sanitation programme in 14 local governments in Nigeria. Civilian Regime The civilian eras of 1979-
1983, in the second republic and, the current fourth republic, have presented amazing spectacle of
pseudo-democracy at the local level. Electoral Realiti e s Finally, electoral realities are the last but
not the least con- tributors to Local Government autonomy. “Electoral realities” refer to the fact that
direct election by popular vote gives lo- cally elected officials a substantia l degree of influence and,
at times, even significant control ov er their supposed “superior” at the State and National levels
(Cover, 2001). Thirdly, the Federal government under the civilian dis- pensation made deductions
from Local Governments’ federally and monthly allocated revenue to maintain external debt ser-
vicing (Olasupo, 2001). Only in Lagos state had a local legislative council demon- strated its
independence of the external forces by removing its leader and reinstating him back as well without
the interference of the State government or any godfather. “The leader of Ifako- Ijaye Local Gove
rnment Legisla tive House in Lagos State, Hon. Thirdly, the consenting authorities of the Military
Governors turned out to be strangulating hold on the Local Government Chairmen since their final
appointments were made by the Governors. Other gross financial improprieties, for which they were
arrested, ranged from contract inflation, diversion of council fund to acceptance of kickbacks on
contracts awarded by them since the inception of the current Fourth Republic that began on May 29,
1999 (Olasupo, 2001). Although he was militarily blocked from doing so; the point was made. Only
in Lagos state had a local legislative council demon- strated its independence of the external forces
by removing its leader and reinstating him back as well without the interference of the State
government or any godfather. “The leader of Ifako- Ijaye Local Gove rnment Legisla tive House in
Lagos State, Hon. The Fourth Republic Local government system is thus characterized by
fluctuations, delays, diversions, deductions and embezzlements of Local governments’ statutory
allocations. From Osun state the impeached chairmen include Mr. Nathaniel Arabambi (Ayedaade
LG); Mr. Adebowale Olaoye (Odo-otin LG). This paper therefore seeks to examine whether there is
a nexus between local government failure and the nature of fi scal decentralization and revenue
allocation in Nigeria. This thus explains why the present Local Government system in Nigeria can be
regarded as sub-unit of the States and the Federal Government since the substantial, if not the entire,
revenue of the councils emanates from both the Federal and State Governments (Olasupo, 2001). To
facilitate good governance, the Nigerian state is politically structured into three governmental tiers:
the federal, the state and the local government. Three hundred (300) questionnaires were distributed
to the staff in Nkanu west local government area while two hundred and seventy-six (276) were
properly completed and returned. See Full PDF Download PDF About Press Blog People Papers
Topics Job Board We're Hiring. Secondly, since the Supervisory Councilors were simi- larly elected
by the councils, like the Chairmen, the latter’s coordinating powers were not too great and had to
depend, in Alex terms, “a great deal on their (LG chairmen) skills, the force of their personalities and
the voluntary cooperation of the Supervisory Councilors”. For instance, up to 1980, Kachia LG in
Kaduna state was the largest in Nigeria. The main cause of these constitutional confusions is hinged
on the fact that Nigeria is about the only federation in the world with three-tiered federal system; in
which Local Government is a separate entity from the other two levels of government (Onimode,
2001).
State and Local Governments ar e not permitted by Federal governments to have State or Local
police. To this end, the paper suggested additional ways of facilitating the achievement of this
objective. National Conference on Two Decades of Local Government (p. 3). Topo-Badagry:
Administrative Staff College of Niger i a (ASCON). Gboyega, A., (1995). History of local
government reforms and the gains made in local government administration during the transition
period. In local government in Nigeria and the United States: Learning from comparison (pp. 19-20).
Ile-Ife: Local Gov- ernment Publication Series, Depart ment of Local Government Stud- ies, Faculty
of Administration, Obafemi Awolowo University. In Tran- sition without end (p. 217). Ibadan: Va nt
a ge P ub l is he rs (Int.) Ltd. Tijani, A. (1998). Limos for their Royal Highnesses. The agenda-setting
theory is used as the theoretical framework. In collaboration with the Federal Ministry of
Intergovernmental Re- lations (States and Local Government) in the presidency (p. 25). Ikeja: Pure
Language Communication. Olasupo, F. A. (1995) an assessment of the democratic features of the
various local government reforms in Nigeria. How well do you think the material will be helpful after
having gone through it. Less than a month thereafter, at a plenary session of the council held on 29 th
September 2009 at the chamber, Iju Areas office, a legislative member, “H on Babajide Atala, moved
the motion that the House revert to the status quo” (Okwuofo, 2009). The paper further argued that,
in spite of the useful potentials of local government autonomy, the need to check against the
inordinate usurpation of powers of local governments by state governments demands a multi-faceted
approach in its implementation as it affects both tiers of governments in Nigeria. Others from other
parts of the country such as Zamfara, Niger, Kano, Rivers, Enugu,Anambra, Kwara and Akwa Ibom
states who were impeached were: Solomon Kogi, Aliu Ikara, Aliu Wara, Smaila Gurijian,Mina Cleve
Tende, Sunday Anyanwa, Ben Onyin, Chuks Anah, Etheobi Okpala, Emmanuel Ebe, Opaknte
Jackreese, Me. In both cases, the courts had granted the prayers of the Local Government Chairmen
by ordering the presidency from further deductions pending the determination of the cases (Olasupo,
2001). This action of the Association of Local Government in Nigeria (ALGON) and that of the
Federal government was interpreted as robbing Peter to pay Paul. Ap- proval must be taking from
the designated State Commissioner or official in the Military Governors’ offices, or the States’
Executive Councils as the case may be (Gboyega, 1995). Although he was militarily blocked from
doing so; the point was made. This paper examined the utility of the local government autonomy as a
vehicle for redressing the overbearing powers of the state governments over local governments’
affairs in Nigeria. To free the Local Government autonomy from the cum- bersome bureaucracies and
constitutional impediments, there is a need to re-e xamine the state of the Local Government system
under the current proposition that there should be a national conference. Environtropica: An
International Journal of the Tropical Environment, 1, 152. Olasupo, F. A. (2001). Evolution of local
government in Nigeria from independence to date. You can download the paper by clicking the
button above. The initiative and the leadership power of the Local Government Chairmen could be
measured under democratic and military dispensations. The au- thority to pass the budget locally was
intended to render, in Alex terms, “obsolete and in-operative the fi nancial control which the States
use to have to sanction the award of contracts beyond a certain value”. Added to this is the pervasive
corrupt environment and administrative bottlenecks under which the local government administration
in Nigeria is subjected. The emergence of the military and its negative impact on not just Local
Government but also State governments and other governmental institutions had the following as it
corollaries: “increased centralization and nationalization of political author- ity, ascendancy of
centripetal forces, greater concentration of national wealth at the national level, greater leadership
initia- tives by federal government, and more dependency of the states and Local Governments on
the federal government. The Punch, 13 December 2000 (p. 4). Lagos: Pu nch (Nig.) Lim ited.
Olufemi, K. (2000). Leadership in administration: A Nigerian local go- vernment outlook. This study
furthermore examines the local government system under various constitutions and draft-
constitutions since 1979, guidelines, decrees and laws. No wonders that the failure of local
government system in Nigeria affects not only the state government but also the federal government.
The councilors in the area want to know how 2 billion naira accruing to the council from the federal
allocation was spent. Femi Orebe cap- tured it more accurately when he said: “Nigeria is the only
federation in the whole world where the federal government decides how, where and when a local
gov- ernment council must run. In Lagos state, for instance, the Chairman of Mushin Local gov-
ernment council had withdrawn his membership of ALGON (Olasupo, 2001). REFERENCES
Ayoade, J. A. A. (1995).The development of democratic local govern- ment in Nigeria.