Local government reform of 1976 nigerian local government. The crisis of local government autonomy in nigeria is a recurrent issue. Local government administration in nigeria and community. 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. Fiscal federalism and local government finance in nigeria. Okene local government area was created in 1976 from the then ebira division by the administration of general olusegun obasanjo, following the 1976 local government reform.
Native authorities and local government reforms in nigeria since 1914. The 1979 constitution of the federal republic of nigeria 20 ugwu, s. Analysis the history of local government administration in nigeria dates back to the colonial era. Nigerian local government was established under the. An analysis of the evolution of local government administration prior to the major 1976 local government reforms is in ncema 1990 and gboyega 1983. The local government in nigeria is the third tier of government after the federal and state governments. Local government in nigeria is rooted on historical antecedents of reforms. The local government service commission has been empowered to handle staff matters. The 1976 local government reforms the 1976 local government reforms was a bold attempt at resuscitating the local government system. The 1976 local government reform was a national exercise the essential. First, local government as a third tier of government should not be scrapped or changed to local administration. The guidelines for local government reforms in nigeria of 1976 defined it as. In fact, it is within the framework of grassroots democracy that the 1976 nigerian local government reform guidelines defined local government as.
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 programmes that have been introduced in nigeria. Local government administration in nigeria and the. Local government reforms of 1976 nurudeen abatemiusman. Jan 23, 2009 in order to consolidate the gains made in local governance over the years and reposition local government for greater performance, there is the need to reform local government along certain lines. In august 1976, the military rulers of nigeria decided to embark on a global reform of the countrys local government system in response to what it described. Ajaokuta and ogorimagongo lgas were created from the old okene lga in 1991 and 1996 respectively.
For the first time, the country was given a common, singletier. Ifaturoti, department of estate management, obafemi awolowo university, ileife, nigeria. Department of public administration ahmadu bello university, kongocampus, zaria kaduna state, nigeria. Local government administration in nigeria and the localist. It started from the precolonial era 1945 of administration where the kings, chiefs and elders held sway over the governance of their respective domains. Local goverment administration and the 1976 local government reform in nigeria. The focus of this paper therefore is an examination of local government finance in nigeria using iwo local government as a case study. These powers should give the council substantial control over local affairs as well as the staff and. 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. Dasuki 1976 reforms, solution to lgs woes, monarch tells buhari. Local government reform in nigeria the history of local government system in nigeria dates back to the colonial days. The 1976 local government reform defines local government as. The 1976 local government reform was a local government in nigeria.
The local government reforms of that year made some fundamental changes in the structure, functions and finances of local government cum useful points of. 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. 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 on the experience of. 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. General problems of local government in nigeria with certain functions devolved to it in the nigerian constitution, the local government is an independent. Local government and community development in nigeria oxford.
Historical epochs of local government administration in nigeria women and the poor. 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. Politics and challenges of the 1999 constitution asaju, k. The changing patterns of local government in nigeria. Implicit in this statement is the fact that local government bodies are created and derive their powers from the state or central government. How much autonomy this third tier of government possesses is unclear and uncertain to the extent that it engenders the problem of measurement. What this paper sets out to examine is the changing nature of local government system in nigeria right from the days of native authority s system to the present democratic one and their impacts on women and the poor. The paper canvassed the need for synergy and collaborative approach to community development and reform initiatives anchored on theory to practice policy inclination. A study of selected local governments in kwara state, nigeria moshood olayinka salahu grassroots development has always been a highly prioritized issue on the agenda of almost every nation of the world. For instance in 1976, the federal military government after the reform as it was contained and noted in the guidelines for local government. Historical epochs of local government administration in nigeria. Local government and community development in nigeria. Aug 12, 2011 thus, today nigeria has 774 local governments.
The politics of local government reforms and democratic. The separation of powers in local government in nigeria. The good intentions of the 1976 reform included the desire to extend the principle of federation by bringing government to the grassroots level, and to achieve. The reform harmonised the condition of service of local government personnel with the personnel of the state and federal governments. In all, there are 774 local governments in nigeria including the four area councils in abuja. In some contexts, the states are aggregated into six geopolitical zones. The federal republic of nigeria guideline for local government reform 1976 defined local government as a government at the local level exercised through representative. Local government system is constitutionally provided for as a third tier and autonomous of the other two, the federal. Issue in local government and urban administration in nigeria. The earliest form of local governments exists in the form of clan and village meetings.
Local government is seen as the third level of government by the local government reform of 1976 in nigeria, also backed by the 1999 constitution as amended. However, the 1979 constitution, which provided the legal framework for the 1976 reforms, plunged the local government system into a crisis of identity, and ever. Federal military government, in 1976 nationwide local government reform, recognized local government as the third tier of governmental activity in the nation. According to the federal government guidelines for. The 1976 reform granted full democratisation of all local governments in nigeria. It was after the but a credible solution to her protracted and precarious reform that the idea of local government was entrenched situations is yet to be arrived at. Types of local government in nigeria history information.
During the murtalaobasanjo regime 19761979 the number of states increased to 19, and nationwide local government reform was intro duced in 1976. The 1976 local government reform was very unique and of greater significance. The local government reform of 1976 provided the guidelines for local governments in nigeria. One of the central objectives of the 1976 local government reform in nigeria was to mobilize human and material resources through the involvement of members of the public in their local development. 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 in nigeria faces series of critical challenges like creating critical social services and how to sustain them. The guidelines for local government reform of 1976. 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.
The status of internal audit at local government level in nigeria. Pdf challenges of local government administration in. Local government and its relationship with the other tiers of government introduction the 1999 constitution of nigeria provides what may be regarded as basic and. Mobilization connotes an assembling or putting into action or. Laleye 1984 local government in west africa since independence. Due to the exigencies of that era and in a bid not to rock the boat and create a situation. This paper probes into recurring problems that generate igr conflicts and confrontations between state and local government in nigeria the paper adopts. The latter resulted in the constitutional recognition of the local government system as a third tier of government under the 1979 constitution. A major external generated revenue for nigeria local government is the federal government statutory allocation which has been in existence since the inception of local government reforms of 1976. Nigeria is divided into thirtysix states and one federal capital territory, which are further subdivided into 774 local government areas lgas. The politics of local government reforms and democratic governance in nigerian local government system has been an issue of concern to both local government scholars and practitioners, hence the desire for this study. View enhanced pdf access article on wiley online library html view download pdf for offline viewing.
The impact of 1976 local government reform on rural. In nigeria, several efforts have been made by various. Prior to 1976, however, nigerian local government has passed through various reforms. Emirs and chiefs, who are the traditional rulers in nigeria, were stripped of most their interventionist powers in leadership and governance by the local government reforms of 1976. The chairman and councillors were made to be elected and also paid fixed monetary allowances. Local government, which is the third tier of government in nigeria have undergone various reform towards making the system more efficient and effective in rural development autonomy. Although contact with europeans dates back to the fifteenth century, it was not until 1861.
It is in recognition of this that the originators of 1976 local government reform made genuine efforts to assist the local government system financially. The current number of local government in nigeria is 774. Structurally, it introduced a singlepurpose and uniformed local government system in the country. As established in the 1976 local government reform, another major consideration for the creation of the local government is for it to act as an agent of local freedom and autonomy. The nigerian journal of local government studies, vol. Thus, the subsequent local government decree of 1989, 1990 and 1992 have all intended to operationalize the third tier. By continuing to use our website, you are agreeing to our use of cookies. North west, north east, north central, south east, south south, and south west. Committee could be established due to the large volume of business to be transacted, local government may find. Within this system, functions are locally and directly executed by.
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. Local goverment administration and the 1976 local government reform in nigeria definition. Structure and impact after forty years in operation in nigeria. It was embarked upon by the federal military government in consultation with the state government and covered such area as. Return to article details local government administration in nigeria. The federal system of government that is been practice by nigeria today commences with the reforms of government in the year 1976, and what this government reform then was for was to restructure the state of the local governments and to decentralize. According to the then chief of staff brigadier shehu m. Local administration in nigeria has passed the four distinct stages of development. Developments since the 1976 local government reform, community development we use cookies to enhance your experience on our website. For the first time in the history of local government in nigeria, a uniform system was developed for the whole country. In particular it discusses the elevated constitutional status of local government, tracing the origins of this to the 1976 local government reform. Yar adua in his forward to the guidelines for local government reform 1976. It started from the precolonial era 1945 of administration where the kings, chiefs and elders held sway over the governance of.
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. The scope and future of local government autonomy 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. View of local government administration in nigeria. The original settlers of damboa are the marghi people, but due to the booming economy of damboa in the calabash farming business during this period made many kanuri people keep. These reforms and reorganizations have affected the system financially, administratively, politically and functionally. The 1976 reform represented a fundamental change in the development of local government in nigeria. 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.
Government at the local level exercise through representative council established by law to exercise specific powers within defined area. The reform created largesized local government areas throughout the federation based on a certain minimum population requirements, these results in uniform local government areas. Brief history of local government in nigeria legit. This paper examines the intergovernmental relations prescribed by the nigerian constitution of 1979. The 1976 local government reform and physical planning. Historical epochs of local government administration in. Native authorities and local government reforms in nigeria. Furthermore, according to the federal government of nigeria guideline on the local government reform 1976 local government is defined as.
Local goverment administration and the 1976 local government. The status of internal audit at local government level in. It is been difficult obtain in the 1979 constitution. The historical evolution of the local government system in nigeria. Providing a working definition for local government system in nigeria, it defined it thus local government should do precisely what the. Structurally, it introduced a singlepurpose and uniformed local government system in. Damboa is a local government area of borno state, nigeria. In 1976, local government reform which coincided with the creation of new states in which nigeria was divided into nineteen states, umulokpa remained the headquarters of uzouwani lga as nigeria s primary objective of the reform programme was to update the existing local government structure and to bring it in line with what was obtainable.