Pdf the local councils can hardly be developmental, just as they are. Clark department of geography, the university of chicago, chicago il 60637 abstract. For all its rhetorical appeal, the meaning of local autonomy remains opaque. In nigeria, since the 1976 local government reform, and subsequent. C where, is the method of dividing powers so that the central and regional governments are each, within a sphere, coordinate and independent. This is with a view to understanding the intricacies of the fundamental problem of local government autonomy in nigeria. Olowu says local government should have some degree of sovereignty or what some people call autonomy.
The process of democratizing local government administration started as far back as 1954. The study adopted secondary source of collecting data. The politics of local government autonomy in nigeria reloaded felix akpan, phd okonette ekanem department of public administration, university of calabar, nigeria abstract the politics of local government in nigeria reloaded has been inspired by the 20 constitution amendment process initiated by the national assembly. Archived from the original pdf on 15 february 2010. This paper examined the utility of the local government autonomy as a. The question of municipal autonomy is a key question of public administration and. Although there are specialpurpose local government bodies e. The scope and future of local government autonomy in nigeria. But the indian constitution provides for a three tier. Pdf local government autonomy and its effectiveness in nigeria. Local government in spain refers to the government and administrative powers exercised by what the constitution calls local entities, principally municipalities, but there are also various forms of supramunicipal bodies such as provincial councils and cabildos and submunicipal bodies such as comarcas. The paper will also examine some of the inherent factors inhibiting local government autonomy in nigeria. Local autonomy is a perennial issue in the study of subcentral government.
Local government autonomy news latest breaking stories. This book offers an overview of the legal, political, and broad intergovernmental environment in which relations between local and state units of government take place, the historical roots of the conflict among them, and an analysis of contemporary problems concerning local authority, local revenues, state interventions and takeovers, and the. In america, in this day and age, there are very few things where local autonomy actually occurs. Pdf local government lg is an intermediary player between the federal authority and the grassroots in a given society. Rural decentralization and local governance provides free. A local government system in which local government is free to do what it wishes but has no possibility of doing anything. Local government autonomy news latest breaking stories and. The objective of this study is to examine local government financial autonomy and how local councils can be free from induce interference by the state, especially in the area of operation, statelocal government joint account which gives the state government undue advantage over local government.
Pdf local government autonomy and its effectiveness in. Download free recent local government studies project topics and materials with already available chapters 1 to 5 in nigeria. The government will implement the decentralization reform, in accordance with the european charter of local autonomy, as an improvement of the quality of governance in direction of efficiency and effectiveness, as well in direction of strengthening accountability and increased autonomy of local government units. Model and determinants of statelocal governments relations in. The autonomy concept which is defined in the european charter of local self government as the right and opportunity for the local governments within the limits laid down by the laws to.
The worst violations of the autonomy of local councils however. As stated above, there are 774 local government areas in nigeria which is quite a number. Along with government officials and advocates for cordillera autonomy, they celebrated here on monday the regions formation as an administrative region, 32 years since it was formed by the late president corazon aquino on july 15, 1987. Comparing local government autonomy across states comparing. The local government system was conceived to bring government and development closer to the grassroots, unfortunately midway it turned out to be the cashcow of. It revealed that there is a remarkably difference between local government autonomy and democratic governance in nigeria and usa. Comparing local government autonomy across states gwipp working paper hal wolman robert mcmanmon michael bell. Decentralization and the increased autonomy in local governments. Ordinarily, federalism involves a two tier system centralunion government at the first level and the stateprovincial government at the second level. A continuous and current discussion opek ozkal sayan and barouovgun ankara university, turkey. A local government is a form of public administration which, in a majority of contexts, exists as. The notion that local government autonomy has important implications for a.
Local government autonomy and state reliance on special district. The state government literally controls the local government commission and hence has the powers to manipulate the running of the local governments. They are in fact political structures that have increasingly become sad and forceful reminders of the systematic. Local government autonomy as an imperative for true. The book makes a persuasive case in favour of greater autonomy for english local 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. Reacting to issues on local government autonomy, president muhammadu buhari said, apparently, it is corruption that led to the relegation of local governments to. Local government autonomy university of north texas. Improvement in local government remains a high priority in most.
The quest or agitation for local government autonomy has been a recurring decimal in the evolution of the nigerian federation. The term is used to contrast with offices at state level, which are referred to as the central government, national government, or where appropriate federal government and also to supranational government which deals with governing. This article explores the driving forces behind local government autonomy and the arguments that are often presented for and against its use. The notion that local government autonomy has important implications for a states local government structure is fast approaching conventional wisdom. Local government autonomy and its effectiveness in nigeria. Chapter 2 meaning, nature and scope of local governments india has the distinction of being a unique federal country. Local government and fiscal autonomy for local government in nigeria eme, okechukwu i. Most often, this supervisory power was used to the detriment of local government autonomy.
Local government in england centralisation, autonomy and. An overview of local government autonomy and its functions in. Federalism in nigeria and local government autonomy. Sometimes, these state mandates are the result of federal mandates. Autonomy definition of autonomy by the free dictionary. Local government in south africa is inundated with a variety of challenges including the inability to facilitate and enhance development in the communities under which the municipalities serve. Improvement in local government remains a high priority in most countries, but unless the relationship between. Local government administration in nigeria has been in existence since 1972 and its primary function is to bring government nearer to the people at the grassroots. These include the abolition of the ministry of local government.
Local government and fiscal autonomy for local government. Reacting to issues on local government autonomy, president muhammadu buhari said, apparently, it is corruption that led to the relegation of local governments to the grip of state governments. A local government is a form of public administration which, in a majority of contexts, exists as the lowest tier of administration within a given state. List of local government studies project topics, research materials, guidelinesideas and works for final year undergraduate students in nigerian universities polytechnics. Autonomous government definition of autonomous government. 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. Local government autonomy is the freedom of the local government to recruit and manage its own staff, raise and manage its own finances, make. Nov 10, 2016 predicated on calls by wellmeaning nigerians for financial autonomy.
Negative binomial regression is used to analyze the link between the administrative, fiscal, functional, and structural autonomy permitted to municipal and county governments and the number of. Local government autonomy can also be defined as the freedom of the local government. Local government autonomy and state reliance on special. Local autonomy is desired by the left and the right, yet is compromised by many laws administered by higher tiers of the state. Jul, 2018 local autonomy would be when some government entity is allowed the ability to set up their own rules, for those things happening within their confines. During babangida regime 19841992 there were certain measures aimed at ensuring local government autonomy. Apr 09, 2014 marcos regime 19721986 the imposition of martial law in 1972, which abolished local elections and vested in the dictator the powers to appoint local officials who were beholden to him, was a great setback for the local autonomy movement 1973 constitution rhetorically committed itself to policy of local autonomy local government. Developmental local government challenges and progress in. A key element of local selfgovernment is financial autonomy. Chapter 2 meaning, nature and scope of local governments. The current structure of the local government system is relatively new and it was preceded by the preinterim phases of local. The three regional governments enacted the northern, western and eastern nigeria local government laws of 1954 respectively.
The paper examined a comparative analysis of local government autonomy and democratic governance in nigeria and usa. I am very optimistic that this government is fully committed to ensure. The local government system was conceived to bring government and development closer to the grassroots, unfortunately midway it turned out to be the cashcow of rapacious state governors and state. Local government as a handmaiden of a higher government order. The extent to which local governments are free from the control of the state and federal government in the management of their local affairs adeyemo, 2005. Local government and fiscal autonomy for local government in. Local government studies project topics and materials. Read all the latest news, breaking stories, top headlines, opinion, pictures and videos about local government autonomy from nigeria and the world on today.