Under the 1999 constitution, executive power is vested in a president who serves as both the head of state and the chief executive, is directly elected to a fouryear term, and nominates the vice president and members of the cabinet. While core functions of local government are defined in the constitution, individual states may augment their responsibilities through legislation. The functions and tasks of the local government are prescribed in the nigerian constitution of 1999. Constitution this is a major characteristic of a government. A comparative analysis of local government administration.
The 1976 local government reform fixes the population of a local government not less than 150,000 and not more than 800, 000. The creation of the state joint local government account system sjlgas by section 162 of the 1999 federal constitution of nigeria was meant to facilitate rural development of the local communities through effective supervision of the distribution and efficient management of revenue accruing to the local government councils from the federation account. Arms of government in nigeria and the tiers information. Government departments, in particular the presidency, treasury, department of provincial and local government, and various components in the department of public service and administration, for providing the information professor tebogo job mokgoro, for his expert advice on the content and logical flow, editing, and final reading of the booklet. This article, functions of local government administration in nigeria clearly articulates the many functions of the local government administrations as enshrined in the 1979 and 1999 constitutions of the federal republic of nigeria.
Local government in nigeria forms the third tier of government coming after the federal and state governments. Brief history of local government in nigeria legit. Local authorities are multipurpose bodies responsible for delivering a broad range of services in relation to roads. Within this system, functions are locally and directly executed by. Fourth schedule provides the list of functions of the local government councils. In all, there are 774 local governments in nigeria including the four area councils in abuja. 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. Local government structures and functions department of housing.
Arms of government in nigeria and their functions the executive branch the executive arm of the nigerian government structure is responsible for the implementation and maintenance of law, among other responsibilities. The relative roles of the three tiers of governmentthe federal. 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 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. Full list of local government in nigeria structure. The current number of local government in nigeria is 774. Functions of local government administration in nigeria. The core functions of local government include preschool, primary and adult education. The government make a set of agreed rules which guides it in the administration of the state. An overview of local government autonomy and its functions. Local government is often, but not necessarily, related to the former. Also, the paper looks at the reasons for the establishment of local government, functions and characteristics of good governance and accountability.
General problems of local government in nigeria with certain functions devolved to it in the nigerian constitution, the local government is an independent. Constitution of the federal republic of nigeria page 150 and 151 spells out the functions of local government. Structure and functions of local government in nigeria. Nigeria, forward to guidelines for local government reforms kaduna, government printer 1976. The states could not cover all areas within themselves, as the population is ever growing and so there is occupancy of more land surfaces. Local government administration in nigeria and the. According to green cited in akinboye 2007 local government is an essential instrument of national or state government for performance of certain basic functions which can best be. The place and role of local government in federal systems konrad. It is the level of government that is closest to the people and is within the people. Nigeria shall be a federation consisting of states and a federal capital territory. Local administration in nigeria has passed the four distinct stages of development. The local government system and federalstate legislative competence under the 1999 constitution nigerian education law journal 2003 vol.
Local government structures and functions department of. The exclusive responsibilities of the federal government of nigeria are. Nigeria is a federal country with a threetier subnational government system. This entity called nigeria evolved over time especially from 1956, when it was three regions north, east and west just before independence, by 1963, it became four regions north, east, west and midwestern regions by 1967. The role of local government as an agent of rural development was redefined in 1960 s when the system was recognized as development. As earlier stated, the local government is the tier of government closest to the people, therefore it is considered a most important facilitator of economic and social development especially at the grassroots. Article 28a of the irish constitution recognises the role of local government in providing a forum for the democratic representation of communities and in exercising and performing powers conferred by law. Each state of the federation is divided into smaller units called local government areas. The local government is the last link in the chain of authority nearest to the local communities and the grassroots. No government is permanent, particularly a democratic or elective government which changes through periodic election.
These distinctions are important, even if they are blurred. Nigeria summary nigeria is a federal republic with three tiers of government. The trend is to increase the role of local authorities in the provision of. Nigeria and switzerland, local government has been entrenched. Providing recommendations to the state thereby helping the state to be more precise in its planning. The constitution provides for a bicameral national assembly, which consists of the house of representatives and the. The machinery of government structure and functions of.
Characteristics and functions of government oldnaija. Periodic change a government is meant to change after a specific period of time. It is a matter of polemics if local governments in nigeria are raising sufficient revenue. Challenges of local government administration in nigeria. The constitution of the federal republic of nigeria, 1999 provides in the fourth schedule the main functions of local governments in nigeria as follows. Representatives of this organization collect taxes, work with telebroadcasting and radio, transport licenses, cemeteries and provides houses for the people in need.
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. Pdf in the general discourse on the local government system in nigeria, two. 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 1999 constitution sets out the following functions of local government in.
Among others, it has the power to appoint, post, promote and discipline local government employees. The role of nigeria local government in rural development. In 1950, the british system of local administration was introduced in the north through the endowment of native authority and law. The local government act 2001 extensively amended and updated by the local government reform act 2014 is the.
Nigerias constitution of 1999 with amendments through 2011. So far the local government system in nigeria has not been stable and thus its future remains bleak, uncertain and insecure. Local government, local government administration, local government reform, colonized, autonomy, constitutional. Pdf the 1999 constitution and the roles of local governments. The numerous functions of the local government in nigeria are outlined thus. A total of 90 respondents comprising of thirty 30 local leaders and sixty 60. Administration and functions of local government in nigeria. Nigeria is one indivisible and indissoluble sovereign state to be known by the name of the federal republic of nigeria. Introduction local government is the closest tier of government to the.
Personnel management functions at the local government level can also be performed in at least two different locations. So, ive got for you in this detailed article the relationship between the three tiers of government in nigeria using the following elements. Hence, strictly speaking, the constitution does not really provide the list of functions to be executed by the federal government of nigeria and the states as it does for the local government councils, but only the subjects upon which they can legislate. 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. This research was carried out assess the role played by local leaders in community development projects in zuru local government area of kebbi state, nigeria. 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. Prepared for the nigerian per steering committee by stuti. Relationship between the three tiers of government in nigeria. Deconcentration broadly means that, for the sake of convenience, some functions have been devolved from. Once any country adopts a federal system of government it is taken for granted that there is division of powers among the levels of government, with a written constitution specifying the division, and the coordinate relationships among the levels. The powers and functions of local government in nigeria 19661980.
The local government service commission has been empowered to handle staff matters. It also provides a guarantee that local elections will be held every five years. The nigerian state is by constitution a federal state comprising of federal, state and local government. The federal government of nigeria is composed of three distinct branches. Fiscal federalism and local government finance in nigeria.
What are the reasons for the creation of local government in nigeria. It was introduced the east in 1955 and west in 1957 with responsibility to serve as a means of rural development in nigeria. Types of government in nigeria and their functions. The 3 rd level which also is the last level of the types of government in nigeria is the local government. Many reasons, ranging from the political to the socioeconomic. The nigerian federation currently has 774 local government units created for. Constraints of local government administration in nigeria. The first is the local government service commission. The aims of the minstry to define the broad principles of governance at the local government level. Guidelines refer to as items which should be regarded as local government responsibili. Statutory functions of local governments nigerian observer. This aside, it should be emphasized that this was a significant inroad or breakthrough in the nigeria local government system.
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