The local government reform of 1976 provided the guidelines for local governments in nigeria. We have the pre colonial experiences culminating in different traditional political system. The guidelines for local government reforms in nigeria of 1976 defined it as government at local level exercised through a representative council established by law to exercise specific powers and function within defined areas. Nigeria has experimented with different systems of local government since the. Prior to 1976, however, nigerian local government has passed through various reforms. No public institution in nigeria has been so subjected to frequent reforms than local government. Politics and challenges of the 1999 constitution asaju, k. The entire education system would benefit from coherent national policy development rather than piecemeal reforms. In the general discourse on the local government system in nigeria, two major influences are notable. Nigeria has the appropriate credentials for greatness. Nigeria, federal military government of 1984 local government. In nigeria, the local government reforms aimed both to accelerate.
Local government is a government in which popular participation both in the choice of decision makers and in its recognition of a third tier of government. Article information, pdf download for a decade of local government reform in. The local government in nigeria is the third tier of government after the federal and state governments. Pdf the local government constitutes the most critical level of. Local government publi cation series, department of local government studies, faculty of administration, obafemi awolowo university. For instance, according to the guidelines of the reform, 25 percent of members of the council are to be nominated by a state military governor. The federal government for the first time was involved in the funding. However, the annual estimates and appropriations are prepared in consonance with the provisions of the mtef. Stop the discretionary retention of revenues by nnpc and its subsidiaries.
Brief history of local government in nigeria legit. The history of local government system in nigeria dates back to the colonial days. Local government in nigeria, just like the nigerian state, is a colonial creation. Their abilities are usually very restricted by the central government. Since the advent of outsourcing of public services in nigeria in 2004 as a strategic tool for public sector reform, it has not been subjected to systematic evaluation. The 1976 local government reform fixes the population of a local government not less than 150,000 and not more than 800, 000. He blamed shortage of trainedstaff in local government on politicization of recruitment, selection and placement. Local administration in nigeria has passed the four distinct stages of development. It may consist of government initiated or government backed approach to property redistribution of land as in the case of nigeria, an outright transfer of ownership of land from the citizens to the state. The purpose of this study is to increase knowledge about state capacity in nigeria by taking stock of governance issues, including public financial management and civil services, and analyzing them in representative states across the regions, as states. The historical evolution of the local government system in nigeria dates back to the colonial era when it was called the colonial native authority. The local government system and federalstate legislative competence under the 1999 constitution nigerian education law journal 2003 vol. Although contact with europeans dates back to the fifteenth century, it was not until 1861 before the first steps were taken to.
Native authorities and local government reforms in nigeria. It started from the precolonial era 1945 of administration where the kings, chiefs and elders held sway over the governance of their respective domains. Administration, constitution, federation, government, local, reform. In the light of the above definitions, the definition provided by the 1976 nigerian local government reform guidelines was adopted in this study. Nigeria state and local governance in nigeria english abstract. The local government reforms of that year made some fundamental changes in the structure. Analyzing the evolution of local government reforms in pakistan is interesting because each of the three major reform experiments has been instituted at the behest of a nonrepresentative centre using a top down approach. In local government in nigeria and the united states.
This paper examines the performance of the nigerian public sector outsourcing activities to ascertain the extent to which pre. Local government reform of 1976 nigerian local government. It is against this backdrop that this paper xrays the trajectory of local government administration reforms in nigeria over the years and understanding some of the shortcomings of these reforms. Decentralization reform refers to transforming the local institutional infrastructure for natural resource management on which local forest management is based ribot. Local government, grassroot mobilization, democratic representation, colonialism, federalism. Local government reform in nigeria by conference on local government reform in nigeria 1979 institute of administration, ahmadu bello university, 1980, dept. The reforms in local government administration in nigeria was instigated by. The national tax policy seeks to provide a set of guidelines, rules and modus operandi that would regulate nigeria s tax system and provide a basis for tax legislation and tax administration in nigeria. A local government is a form of public administration which, in a majority of contexts, exists as. I976 local government reform categorically stated that local government system in nigeria is a tier of government. Local government admini stratio n in nigeria and the localist theory. The reform also tacitly freed the local governments financially from the apron string of the state governments. The department has statutory responsibility, derived from the. Nigeria state and local governance in nigeria english.
Local government administration in nigeria school mattazz. This aside, it should be emphasized that this was a significant inroad or breakthrough in the nigeria local government system. The current number of local government in nigeria is 774. The local government reforms of that year made some fundamental changes in the structure, functions and finances of local government cum useful points of reference for successive governments for subsequent reform. Historical epochs of local government administration 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. Pre 2002 tax reform efforts the federal government had taken farreaching steps aimed at reforming the nations tax system before the pre 2002 reform efforts. In all, there are 774 local governments in nigeria including the four area councils in abuja. Due to the exigencies of that era and in a bid not to rock the boat and create a situation.
Public sector reforms and outsourcing services in nigeria. Dasuki 1976 reforms, solution to lgs woes, monarch tells. Oluwatobi1 introduction nigeria is rich in natural and human resources, with a population of over 150 million people. The problems of local government in nigeria have been documented and they include among other things, inadequate planning, poor implementation of policies, inadequate revenue, corruption and mismanagement, lack of adequate manpower, lack of autonomy, lack of participation by the people and intergovernmental conflict. Sanda ndayako, etsu nupe led technical committee on councils reform, president obasanjo said among other things that the present structure and operation of the local government negate the noble intentions of the 1976 local government reforms. Jul 10, 2014 local government as corporate body become modernized in 1976 when local government was recognized as a third tier of government following. Following years of economic stagnation, nigeria embarked on a comprehensive reform program during the second term of the obasanjo administration. Fiscal federalism, local government, autonomy, finance 1. Section 7 9 of 1997 constitution provides that legislative powers of local government shall be vested in the local government council.
A case for reform in nigeria executive summary nigeria s national oil company, the nigerian national petroleum corporation nnpc, sells around one million barrels of oil a day, or almost half of the countrys total. The federal republic of nigeria guideline for local government reform 1976 defined local government as a government at the local level exercised through representative councils established by laws to exercise specific powers within defined areas. The authors explain why the buhari government should pursue two tracks of reform. Exploring the nexus jide ibietan1, peter ndukwe2 abstract the main objective of this paper is to examine the nature and challenges of local government admini stratio n in nigeria using the localist theory as framework of analysis. The federal government could not cover all areas in nigeria considering how big our country is, so 36 nigerian states and capital were created but alas. Local government exists as the lowest tier of administration within a given state. Different local government areas were created that paid no respect to history, tradition, culture and community solidarity.
Nigeria state and local governance reform slogor project. With time and experiences, however, both governments and people at local levels. The 1978 task force on tax administration headed by alhaji shehu musa. And, second, a uniform system of local governments system for the whole country was promulgated. Aba north, aba south, arochukwu, bende, isiala ngwa south, ikwuano, isiala, ngwa north, isukwuato, ukwa west, ukwa east, umuahia, umuahia south. 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. Nigeria has attempted to answer such reform questions through the setting up of reform commission, panels, study groups and so on to analyse the management and function of government operations, and make recommendations that could orient the operations and function towards the achievement of national objectives. Raising and prudent utilization of resources is one aspect of local government management that need. Local government administration in nigeria and the localist.
A royal father in kogi state, the maigari of lokoja, muhammed makarfi ii has called on the federal government to revisit and implement the 1976 dasuki local government reform, saying it was the. The districts lost most of their importance in 1999 in an administrative reform. The guidelines for local government reform of 1976. The role of nigeria local government in rural development. Among the notable feature of local government in nigeria is that it operates a unified administrative system and expected to have an elected. Nigeria has a population of 3 million, a landmass of 923,768km2, a bountiful endowment in arable land, solid minerals and petroleumgas resources. Although democratically elected local government is protected by the constitution, and development areas and autonomous communities are created by individual state legislation, elected local government is lacking in. Analysis the history of local government administration in nigeria dates back to the colonial era. Nigeria summary nigeria is a federal republic with three tiers of government.
This is so because it was developed by a committee which set up to reform the nigerian local government system in 1976. The national tax policy is an initiative of the federal government of nigeria. Following the state creation in 1996, local government is presently 774 including the fct. Its contents may not otherwise be disclosed without authorization. Local government reform in nigeria 1980 edition open. The local government areas in nigeria are governed by local government chairmen and are further divided into wards which are presided over by councilors. The reform created largesized local government areas throughout the federation based on a certain minimum population requirements, these results in uniform local government areas. These reforms and reorganizations have affected the system financially, administratively, politically and functionally. View of local government administration in nigeria. Decentralization is the means to allow for the participation of people and local governments morell. Generally, banking sector reforms in nigeria have been embarked upon to achieve market liberalization in order to promote efficiency in resource. At the time of her political independence, on 1st october 1960, nigeria excelled in.
It has undergone many vicissitudes and reforms, the most popular of which has. The head of a local government is known as the chairman. May 19, 2016 a royal father in kogi state, the maigari of lokoja, muhammed makarfi ii has called on the federal government to revisit and implement the 1976 dasuki local government reform, saying it was the. Things which government at the local level in nigeria does. Good governance in the public sector consultation draft.
The states could not cover all areas within themselves, as the population is ever growing and so there is occupancy of more land surfaces. The major reform of the local government system in nigeria was carried out under a military regime in 1976 and it carried with it the undemocratic character of the military. Gboyega 1987, a national reform of local governments in the country was abjured by. In an effort to coordinate, manage and integrate the reform programme, government established institutional arrangement for reform implementation in nigeria. The 36 states in nigeria and their local government areas. The 1976 local government reform in nigeria made local government as a third tier of government.
Here is the list of all the 36 states in nigeria and abuja and their local government areas. Local government administration in nigeria and community. These powers should give the council substantial control over local affairs as well as the staff and. The recent banking sector reforms in nigeria are a component of the general financial sector reforms which started since 1986 during the structural adjustment programme sap. The national guidelines for reforms oflocal government 1976.
Government at the local level exercise through representative council established by law to exercise specific powers within defined area. The paper argues that local government is not mutually exclusive of other levels of government and that as such there is bound to be an interaction between the local and other levels of government. The speed with which elected councils have been dissolved and replaced by caretaker committees and state appointees contrasts strangely with the constitutional provision that there should be a system of local government by democratically elected local. The new nigerian local government system was clearly intended by its creators to be a representative and democractic system of devolution. Using a theoretical analysis, the paper finds that the combined effects of constitutional gaps and reform contradictions have rendered nigerias system of local. On the organization and functioning of the local government, republic of albania, 2000 pdf. In the light of this, in 1976, the nationwide local government reform was. 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. In planning the reform of local government in nigeria in 1976, and deciding to give a status to local government in the nigerian constitution those involved drew. It is therefore expected to do precisely what the word govern ment implies i.
Each of these reform experiments is a complementary change to a. Nigeria national water sector reform project ida39240 and ida47840 june 22, 2017 this document has a restricted distribution and may be used by recipients only in the performance of their official duties. Model and determinants of statelocal governments relations in. Aug 12, 2011 in 1976, the federal government entered directly and introduced the most pervasive land sweeping reforms. Local government reforms and true federalism nigeria homepage. But, mismanagement of the economy, lack of public accountability, insensitivity of the leadership to the yearnings and aspirations of. Constitutional, legal and political problems of local. Arguably, the babangida reforms that freed the local. Data for the study were gathered from facetoface interview, available records in iwo local government, text books, lecture notes, journals, reports, seminar presentation and internet materials.
Local government and intergovernmental relations in nigerias. The 1976 reform created large sized local government areas nationwide. The paper canvassed the need for synergy and collaborative approach to community development and reform initiatives anchored on theory to practice policy inclination. Local reforms and autonomy chapter pdf available april 2011 with,710 reads how we measure reads. Local government administration in nigeria and the. The detailed mandates of these institutions are given below. Fiscal federalism and local government finance in nigeria. These are made up of the national council on reforms, the steering committee on reforms and the bureau of public service reforms. In order to achieve this, ministries, departments and agencies. This means that local government has legislative powers just like the federal and state governments. Land reform generally involves the changing of laws, regulations or customs regarding land ownership. The focus of this paper therefore is an examination of local government fina nce in nigeria using iwo local government as a case study.
Full list of local government in nigeria structure. The objective of the state and local governance reform slogor project for nigeria is to improve transparency, accountability and quality in public finance management, with a view to strengthening governance in the participating states. These local governments do not have a lot of rights and most of its decisions are made according to the central government s rules. Local governments in nigeria relevance and effectiveness in. The federal government was to fund the local government with a statutory percentage share of the federation account and state revenue went to the local government. Local governments in nigeria like many other states across the world are created and meant to bring governments closer to people at local and grass root levels. Local government administration in nigeria and the localist theory. In the nearterm, to fix urgent sources of revenue loss, it should. Indeed the guideline for local government reform in nigeria. Government system in nigeria, schedule 4 of the 1999 constitution as amended equally highlights the functions and responsibilities of the local government. Financial, private sector, and sustainable development. The scope and future of local government autonomy in nigeria.
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