Democratising Local Government Administration: Flaws or Reforms Efforts in Nigeria
Keywords:
Flaws and Reforms, Local Government AdministrationAbstract
Local government authorities are set up by legal instrument on the basis of
tradition homogenous areas or ethnic groups. In Nigeria today, it is an important
integral part of federalism, which should not be undermined. It must be accorded
a position of relevance in the democratic dispensation. This paper therefore
intends to bring into focus the evolution of local government administration in
Nigeria, the various reforms that local government system had passed through
and the current position of the local government system in the present democratic
setting. However, the effects of undermine and misplacement of priority by the
local government under the present dispensation will also be examined.
Suggestions are made on how to remedy the flaws and poor performance of the
local government system in this present democratic dispensation; the undue
interferences of the state government on the local government democratic process
and financial matters must be stopped; local government system must be
recognized as the third tier of government in Nigeria federation, therefore they
should be made to enjoying the autonomy; while the operators of this system
must not loose focus on the constitutional expectations of the system.
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