Present Structure of Local Govt. in Nig.

THE PRESENT STRUCTURE OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT IN NIGERIA

AND A PROPOSED REFORM TO ENCOURAGE

PLANNING ACTIVITIES

By

ERINLE ADESHOLA EMMANUEL

POST GRADUATE STUDENTDEPARTMENT OF URBAN AND REGIONAL PLANNING

SCHOOL OF ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIESYABA COLLEGE OF TECHNOLOGY

COURSE TITTLE: PLANNING LAW AND ADMINISTRATION

LECTURER: TPL. J.O. OKE

FEBRUARY, 2012

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER ONE

1.0 Introduction

1.1 What is Local Government

1.2 Historicity of Local Government

1.3 Structure of Local Government

1.4 Finance of Local Government

1.5 Functions of Local Government

CHAPTER TWO

2.0 Local Government Reform in Nigeria

2.1 The Military and Local Government in Nigeria

2.2 Local Government in the Fourth Republic (1999-2003)

2.3 Local Government and Review of the 1999 Constitution

2.4 Problems Militating Against Local Government Performance

2.5 Conclusion

2.6 Recommendations

References

CHAPTER ONE

1.0 INTRODUCTION

The problem of governance particularly at the local level has been a recurring

decimal in the political history of Nigeria. Local government in Nigeria started

during the colonial era when it was vested in traditional rulers and it operated in a

very undemocratic manner. Over the years, efforts have been made to democratize

local government and make it more responsive to developmental needs. 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. In this paper, we examine the evolution of local government system in

Nigeria against the background of recent moves by the federal government to

reform the local government system in the country. We argue that the present

effort is an attempt to reverse the gains that have been made over the years to make

local government more democratic. While there are problems with the running of

local government (just like the other tiers of government) we posit that what is

needed is the expansion of democratic space, entrenchment of democratic culture

and the promotion of good governance, transparency and accountability. The

remaining part of this paper is divided into six parts. The first part attempts to

describe what local government is and the desirability of local government. The

second part gives the history of local government in Nigeria situating within that

history the major reforms that have been carried out from the colonial era till date.

The third part highlights the dominant role the military has played in local

governance. We argue that the military laid the basis for the undemocratic nature

of the local government and the erosion of local government autonomy. The fourth

part highlights the problems of local government in the fourth republic particularly

in terms of tenure and succession. The fifth part addresses the issue of local

government and constitutional review in Nigeria while the final part is the

concluding section with recommendations.

1.1 WHAT IS LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Local government, which can be simply described as government at the local level

has been defined by various scholars in different ways. The United Nations Office

for Public Administration defines local government as:

A political subdivision of a nation or (in a federal system) State, which is

constituted by law and has substantial control of local affairs including the powers

to impose taxes or to exact labour for, prescribed purposes. The governing body of

such an entity is elected.

The 1976 local government reform defines local government as:

Government at local level exercised through representative council established by

law to exercise specific powers within defined areas. These powers should give the

council substantial control over local affairs as well as the staff and institutional

and financial powers to initiate and direct the provision of services and to

determine and implement projects so as to complement the activities of the State

and federal governments in their areas, and to ensure, through devolution of these

functions to these councils and through the active participation of the people and

their traditional institutions, that local initiative and response to local needs and

conditions are maximized.

The definitions above bring out four key characteristics of local government. First,

local government officials are elected. A regular election at specified period of

time is a feature of local government. In fact, the main distinguishing characteristic

that differentiates a local government from a local administration is the fact that

while the officials of the former are elected those of the later are appointees of the

centre to implement policies of the centre. Second, the local government unit must

have a legal personality distinct from the State and Federal Governments. Thirdly,

the local government must have specified powers to perform a range of functions

and finally, it must enjoy substantial autonomy. Local government autonomy

means that the local government is elected at the local level and operate

independently of the State and Federal Government. The local government is no

longer an appendage or field office of the State government. The characteristics of

local government autonomy include among other things ability to make its own

laws, rules and regulations; formulate, execute and evaluate its own plans and the

right to recruit, promote, develop and discipline its own staff.

Scholars and practitioners of local government over the years have been confronted

with the question of the desirability or otherwise of local government. Various

arguments have been advanced for the need for local government. It has been

argued that local people will understand the problems confronting them more than

other people and will be in better position to address the problems. In addition, it is

well established that people are prone to resisting impositions from above. Local

government therefore provides opportunity for people to determine who should

govern them at the local level. Finally, local government promotes personal liberty

and participation of the people in governance. This is particularly important as it

has been documented that participation by citizens is not only crucial for

democracy and development but also that when citizens participate in the planning,

execution, utilization and assessment of social amenities of facilities designed to

improve their welfare, success of those efforts are assured Closely related to the

above is the need to train people in the act of governance. It has been argued that

local government serves as training ground for leaders who will subsequently

move to State and federal levels. This is why local government has been described

as “nurseries of democracy”. This is particularly important in developing countries

like Nigeria, which have been under long years of colonial and military rule with

very limited experience in democratic governance.

Local Government, according to the Federal Government of Nigeria, through the

1976 Local Government Reforms, explained Local Government as follows:

“Local Government is Government at Local level exercised through representative

councils established by Law to exercise specific power within defined areas”

(Government print: 1976).

The United Nations Office for Public Administration explained Local Government

as: “A political division of a nation (in a Federal or State system) which is

constituted by Law and has substantial control of Local affairs including the

power to impose taxes to exact labour for prescribed purposes.

W. A. Robson, in the Encyclopedia of the Social Services, defines Local

Government as involving:

“The conception of a territorial, non-sovereign community possessing the legal

right and the necessary organ to regulate its own affairs.

This, in turn, presupposes the existence of a Local authority with the power to

act independently of external control as well as the participation of the local

community in the administration of its affairs”.

The Encyclopedia Americana, International Edition( 1978), volume 17, defines

Local Government as: “a political subdivision of national government or in the

case of Federal Systems, a subdivision of regional Government”.

The New Columbia Encyclopedia (4th Ed.), defines it as the: “sub-political

administration of the smallest sub-divisions of a country’s territory and

population. Ugwu (2002) defines Local Government as “the lowest unit of

administration to whose laws and regulations communities who live in a defined

geographical area and with a common social and political ties are subject.

Though these definitions may tend to vary, yet they expose features characteristic

of Local Government, among which are that:

i. Local Government is government at the local level;

ii. It has its autonomous existence and endowed with a legal status;

iii. Specific powers are reserved for it;

iv. It can impose taxes and incur expenses;

v. it exists within a defined territory;

vi. It is seen as a distinct tier of Government;

vii. It must provide authority over a given population;

viii. It must provide avenues for the promotion of the welfare of the members

of the community;

ix. It comprises elected members, such as chairmen and councilors.

Having listened so far to the definitions given above, at least , each one of us are

present can say something about what Local Government is, at least , the fact that

it is the government closest to us at the grass root level. And, as a matter of fact,

may we now draw your attention to the origin of the word “Local “. “Local” as a

term is derived from Latin “Locus”, which means “place”. This understanding of

the etymological meaning of “Local” as “place” can further assist us in

understanding Local Government as the government of our immediate “place”,

be it our town, group of villages or group of clans. Your local government thus

means the government of your place.

1.2 HISTORICITY OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT IN NIGERIA.

Modern discourse on the genesis of Local Government in Nigeria may be

anchored on the 1976 Local Government Reform, but the onto-genesis of Local

Government dates back to the Indirect Rule and Native Authority systems

introduced by Lord Lugard and Sir Danald Cameron respectively.

As a mater of fact, Local Government in Nigeria underwent epochal

transmutations. And the stages of evolution of development of Local Government

in Nigeria can be categorized into the following EPOCHS:

i. Indirect Rule system, Native Authority system/Local Administration (1900-

1950s);

ii. Period of the introduction of British model of Local Government (1950-

1956);

iii. The period of decline of Local Government (1960-1970s);

iv. Local Government during the Military regime (1966-1975);

v. The 1976 Local Government Reforms and Local Government in the

Second Republic (1979-1987);

vi. Babangida Local Government Reforms (1985).

This epochal schema can again be regrouped into:

1. The colonial period: 1900-1960; and

2. Post colonial period: 1960-1976

COLONIAL PERIOD: 1900 – 1960

The definitive essences of this period were the systems of Indirect Rule (1891-

1929), the Native Authority (1931-1949), and the rise of Modern Local

Government (1950 onward) then, Nigeria was administered in three parts, namely;

1. The colony and the protectorate of Lagos with capital at Lagos administered

by a high commissioner.

2. The protectorate of Southern Nigeria with capital at Calabar

administered by a high commissioner;

3. The protectorate of Northern Nigeria with the capital at Zungeru

administered by the Divisional Officers (DOS) and Assistant Divisional

Officers (ADO).

Indirect Rule: 1891-1929

By 1960, Nigeria had come to be recognized by other colonial powers as a British

colony. This was a consequence of British being the first to establish an occupation

on the area by signing treaties of protection with Nigerian rulers, and later by

invading and occupying their territories. The desire to achieve a total and effective

control over the Nigeria area constituted the prime objective of British colonial

administrators in the early phase of their rule which lasted from 1900 to 1914

(Falola et al, 1991: 1). The Indirect Rule, in principle, was one of the non-violent

methods adopted by Britain in ruling her African colonies. Indirect rule in theory

believed that the British were to rule Nigeria and other colonies through

indigenous rulers and institutions. This system gained some success in Western

and Northern Nigeria where the local institutions were prominent and well

established.

After the institution of the council of chiefs in 1897, by the legal force of the

Native Council Ordinance of 1901, native chiefs were made presidents of council.

In Eastern Nigeria, the indirect rule system did not succeed due to non existence of

well established local institutions.

Native Authority System:

In 1931, Donald Cameron, “Governor of Nigeria” (1931-1935) as he then was,

established the Native Authority system in Nigeria. Native councils instead of

Native Courts became Native Authorities. Council members were elected with

the acceptance of the people.

However, this system was beset with a plethora of problems, ranging from poor

performances, its undemocratic proclivity, the alienation of the educated elite of

the various native authority councils, to the dominating role of European officers

(District officers). A reform became an utmost necessity. And from 1948 John

Macpherson, “ Governor of Nigeria” as he then was, aimed to establish

democratically elected Local Government Council.

British Model Local Government

Pursuant to the Local Government Ordinance of 1950, the local government

system based on the British model was introduced into southern Nigeria. Under the

ordinance the whole region was divided into urban councils, county councils and

local councils. This had a ripple effect as the Local Government Law of 1952 also

introduced democratically elected councils in western Nigeria. In 1954 the Native

Authority Law was re-enacted to further modernize the native authorities (Ojong,

2002: 53). It is worthy and wise to note that the active participation (participatio

actuosa) of natives in local government councils imbued in them the nationalist

mood to agitate for independence, which came in 1960.

POST COLONIAL PERIOD: 1960 - 1976

The independence came in 1960, but the progress of Local Government was

militated against mainly by militarism.

Local Government Administration (1960-1976)

There came a decline in Local Government consequent upon the military

intervention of 1966. Moreover, there was reduction of Local Government source

of revenue, a reduction in statutory grants and loss of Local Government autonomy

in financial affairs.

In the former Western region the Local Government (Amendment) Law of 1960

abolished the power of the council to levy education and general rates on the basis

of need (Ojong, 2002: 53). In the former Eastern region, the civil war made Local

Government to cease to exist temporarily. And even after the war, the system could

not recover its status quo ante (pre-existing status). Thus, a whole scale reform

was deemed almost too necessary.

The 1976 Local Government Reforms

The Federal Military Government embarked on extensive Local Government

reforms in 1976. These reforms, interalia, were:

a. There should be a Local Government council, which would operate through a

uniform single tier Local Government structure all over the country;

b. There should be a complete democratization of Local Government system

and membership of the Local Government were to be elected;

c. The abolition of provincial and divisional administrations;

d. The Local Government councils operated through chief executives;

e. The creation of 307 Local Government councils;

f. Provision was made for statutory allocation to be made to Local

Government by both federal and state Governments;

g. The establishment of Local Government service board, which takes the

responsibility for recruiting, posting, promoting and the discipline of senior

staff in the Local Government.

The 1976 Local Government Reforms entrusted political responsibility to the

people at the grass root level. It also sought the social and economic development

of and the effective delivery of service to the respective local population scattered

all over the country (Orewa and Oduwumi: 2001: 22).

There had been subsequent Local Government reforms after the 1976 Local

Government reform. These were:

i. The 1976 Guidelines for Local Government Reforms;

ii. The 1979 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria;

iii. The 1984 Dasuki Report of the Nigerian Local Government;

iv. The 1992 Handbook on Local Government Administration;

v. The 1989 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria;

vi. The 1992 Handbook in Local Government Administration;

vii. The 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

These reforms did not deviate in substance and essence from the 1976 Local

Government Reforms, but rather derived from them. Thus the 1976 Reforms

became the cradle, the genesis, the touch-stone, the key-stone, the corner-store,

the pillar, the rock, the fulcrum, the crux, the axis, the epicenter, the

quintessence, the groundwork, the foundation, the “fons et origo” (font and

origin) of modern Local Government Laws and practice in the Federal Republic of

Nigeria.

1.3 THE STRUCTURE OF THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT UNDER THE

1999 CONSTITUTION OF NIGERIA

The Local Government Structure

Basically, the structure of the presidential system of Local Government at the grass

root level consists of the legislature and the executive, the judiciary being absent.

The Executive Arm

This consists of the chairman, vice chairman, supervisors and secretary of council.

The chairman of the Local Government council is the chief executive and

accounting officer of the council. The secretary of council and the supervisory

councillors are appointed by the chairman of council.

The Legislative Arm

The Legislative arm of the Local Government council is composed of the leader of

the council and other councillors. The functions performed by the legislative arm

are defined by law but essentially include:

a. Debating, approving and amending the annual budget of the Local

Government;

b. Vetting and monitoring the implementation of projects and programmes in

the annual budget of the Local Government;

c. Examining and debating the monthly statement of income and

expenditure rendered to it by the Chairman of the Local Government;

d. Advising, consulting and liaising with the Chairman of council;

e. And performing such other functions that may be assigned to it from

time to time by an edict or law of the state in which it is situated.

There may be other theoretical Structurization of the Local Government. These can

be categorized into the;

Administrative Structure

where the Chairman, Secretary, Supervisory councillors and Heads of Department

are involved;

The Financial Structure

where the treasurer and Auditor General of the Local Government are involved;

The Committee Structure

where there are several committees such as:

i. The Financial and general purpose Committee

ii. Police and Community relations Committee

iii. Education Committee

iv. Works and Housing Committee

v. Health and Environmental services Committee

vi. Agriculture, Rural and Social Services Committee

vii. Financial and Economic planning Committee;

The Personnel Structure, headed by the head of Personnel.

The Personnel Department is responsible for the Personnel of all Local

Government which acts in liaison with the Local Government Services

Commission, which is charged with responsibilities of staff discipline, welfare and

training in the Local Government.

Due to the concomitant democratic resonance of modern Local Government

system, the political structure of the local government tends to overshadow other

structures and thus remains pivotally significant.

1.4 LOCAL GOVERNMENT FINANCE

In his analysis of the society, Karl Marx was apt to submit that there are

basically two principal structures in the society, the first being the substructure

and the second being the superstructure. The first, sub-structure refers to the

economic system, while the second, the super-structure refers to the political

system. The thinker went on to aver that the sub-structure controls the super-

structure. Put in other words, the economy of any given society dictates the

political structure of that society. The U.S.A. is the most vibrant economy in the

whole world. Owing to this singular fact, the U.S.A. has almost the best systems

in terms of its polity, defense, education, etc.

Here, we intend to say that the finance of the Local Government can dictate the

pace of the administration of the Local Government. Surely, “the success or

failure of the effectiveness or ineffectiveness of any Local Government largely

depend on financial resources available to the individual Local Authorities and

the way these resources are utilized”(Adedeji:1969:96).

The sources of Local Government revenue can be located under

1. External sources

2. Internal sources

The External sources of the revenue represent the revenue from the external

sources as specified in accordance with constitutional provision of revenue sharing

between the Federal, State and Local Government, namely:

a. Federal Statutory allocations in percentage (20-25%); monthly

allocations of value added tax (VAT);

b. Statutory allocation which is 90% of total internally generated revenue

of the State Government

c. Loans, bonds and debentures

The Internal sources are as follows:

a. Revenue from taxes and rates;

b. Licenses and fees;

c. Commercial undertakings;

d. General sources.

1.5 FUNCTIONS OF THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT

The Local Government system by democratically elected Local Government

Councils is guaranteed under the 1999 Nigerian Constitution, section 7. Based on

this section 7, the 1999 Nigerian Constitution provides for the functions of a Local

Government Council under its Fourth Schedule. This schedule tends to derive

mainly from the Basic and Constitutional Transition Provisions (Decree 15 of

1987). Thus, functions of Local Governments are categorised into

i. The Exclusive list; and

ii. The Concurrent list.

The exclusive list of functions is those functions that are solely performed by Local

Governments, while the concurrent list of functions are those that the Local

Government performs in collaboration with State and federal Governments. The

State and/or Federal Government can also perform these functions on behalf of

local Governments until Local Governments are in a position to perform such

functions.

According to the Fourth Schedule 1 of the 1999 Nigerian Constitution,

The main functions of a Local Government Council are as follows:

(a). the Consideration and the making of recommendations to a State

commission on economic planning or any similar body on

(i). the economic development of the State, particularly in so far as the areas

of authority of the council and of the State are affected, and

(ii) proposals made by the said commission or body;

(b). Collection of rates, radio and television licenses;

(c). Establishment and maintenance of cemetries, burial grounds and homes

for the destitute or infirm;

(d). Licensing of bicycles, trucks (other then mechanically propelled trucks),

canoes, wheel barrows and carts;

(e). Establishment, maintenance of and regulation of slaughter houses,

slaughter slabs, markets, motor parks and public conveniences;

(f). Construction and maintenance of roads, streets, street lightings, drains and

other public highways, parks, gardens, open spaces, or such public

facilities as may be prescribed from time to time by the House of

Assembly of a State;

(g). Naming of roads and streets and numbering of houses;

(h). Provision and maintenance of public conveniences, sewage and refuse

disposal;

(i). Registration of all births, deaths and marriages;

(j). Assessment of privately owned houses or tenements for the purpose of

levying such rates as may be prescribed by the House of Assembly of a

State; and

(k). Control and regulation of:

(i). Out–door advertising and hoarding;

(ii). Movement and keeping of pets of all description,

(iii). Shops and kiosks,

(iv). Restaurants, bakeries and other places for sale

(v). laundries, and

(vi). Licensing, regulation and control of the sale of liquor

Under section 2 of the Fourth Schedule, the functions of a Local Government

Council shall include participation of such council in the Government of a State as

respects the following matters:

(a). the Provision and maintenance of primary, adult and vocational

education;

(b). the development of agriculture and natural resources, other than the

exploitation of minerals;

(c). the provision and maintenance of health services; and

(d). Such others functions as may be conferred on a Local

Government Council by the House of Assembly of the State.

The Executive Committee Functions

As earlier indicated above, the executive arm of the Local Government is

constituted by the Chairman, the Vice-Chairman elected with him, the secretary

and Supervisors appointed by the Chairman. The specific functions of these key

officers specified in the Handbook on Local Government (1999) are as follows:

(a). The Chairman

The Chairman, as the Chief Executive and Accounting Officer, shall

perform the following functions:

(i). He shall observe and comply fully with the checks and balances spelt out in

the existing guidelines and financial regulations governing receipts, and

disbursement of public funds and other assets entrusted to his care and shall

be liable for any breach thereof;

(ii). His accountability shall not cease by virtue of his leaving office and he may

be called upon, at any time, even after leaving office, to account for his

tenure as chairman.

(iii). The Chairman as chief Executive and Accounting Officer shall face periodic

checks in order to ensure full adherence to the finance (control and

management), And to this end:

(a). All instructions relating to expenditure of public funds by the

Accounting Officers shall be in writing;

(b). All accounting officers shall be responsible to account to the public

accounts committee for all monies voted for each department

and shall be peculiarly liable.

(c). The Chairman as Chief Executive and Accounting officer shall render

monthly statement of income and expenditure and annual

reports to the Local Government Council for it to consider and

debate in order to ensure accountability and enforce the

performance ethics. The format and content of the annual report shall

place emphasis on performance and concrete achievements of

the Local Government targets and output during the relevant year;

(d). The Local Government chairman shall render quarterly returns of the

actual income and expenditure of the Local Government to the

State Government for onward transmission to the office of the Vice-

President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria with a

copy to the Central Bank of Nigeria;

(e). The Chairman as Accounting Officer shall be bound by the

provisions of any other rules, regulations, guidelines, edicts and

laws governing the roles and functions of a Chief Executive and

accounting Officer;

(f). The Chairman shall ensure the strict observance of the spending limits

by all concerned;

(g). All reference to the secretary as accounting Officer in the financial

Regulations and any other rules, regulations, guidelines, edicts

or laws shall be construed as reference to the chairman;

(h). The Chairman shall direct the officers of the Local Government and

shall allocate responsibilities to the Vice-Chairman Secretary

and Supervisors at least once every week;

(i). The chairman shall hold meetings with the members of the Executive

Committee of the Local Government, i.e., Vice-Chairman,

Secretary and Supervisors at least once every week;

(j). He shall maintain liaison with the Local Government Legislature and

the leader of the legislature in the interest of the Local

Government;

(k). He shall countersign the annual performance evaluation report of the

heads of department of the Local Government which shall be

initiated by the secretary to local Government.

(b). The Vice-Chairman

The Vice-Chairman, who shall be elected with the Chairman of Local

Government, shall be assigned responsibilities for the administration of a

department of the Local Government.

1. He shall act for the Chairman in his absence;

2. The Vice-Chairman may be called upon at anytime, even after leaving

office, to account for his tenure as Vice-Chairman.

(c). The Secretary to the Local Government

The Secretary to the Local Government shall be appointed by the Chairman

and shall hold his office at the pleasure of the Chairman. He shall:

1. Serve as the secretary of the meeting of the Executive Committee of the

Local Government and keep the records thereof;

2. Coordinate the activities of the departments of the Local Government;

3. Liase, on behalf of the Chairman, with the Local Government Council

through the leader of the Council;

4. Liase with the secretary to the State Government and other necessary

State functionaries on State-Local Government relations; and

5. Perform such other duties as may be assigned to him, from time to

time, by the Chairman.

(d). Supervisors

The Supervisors shall be appointed by the Chairman of the Local

Government in consultation with the Local Government Council. Each

Supervisor shall hold his appointment at the pleasure of the Local

Government Chairman who appointed him or her and the supervisor’s

tenure shall automatically remain the discretion of the Chairman.

The functions of the supervisory councillors as the political heads are as follows:

(a). Political heads of their respective departments;

(b). Member of the finance and general purpose Committee which in effect is

the cabinet to the Local Government,

(c). Giving directives to executive heads of Local Government departments on

general policy issues only, but not on the internal management of the

department;

(d). Assisting the Chairman to supervise the execution of Local Government

projects within their respective departments;

(e). Chairman of relevant committee i.e. their respective departments (such as

Education, Works, health, etc;

(f). Carrying out such other functions as Chairman or council may assign to

them from time to time.

The Functions of the Legislature in the Local Government;

The Legislature comprises the leader of the council, the deputy leader and

councilors. The legislative powers vested in the Local Government Council are

exercised by the bye-laws passed by its legislature and assented to by the

chairman.

The functions of the legislature in the Local Government include:

(i) Law making

The Legislature makes bye-laws. The list of matters on which a Local

Government Council is expressly empowered to enact bye-laws are

contained in section 1 (a), (b) of the fourth schedule of the 1999

constitution for the exclusive list. The concurrent list of matters on which

both a Local Government Council and the State Assembly have powers to

legislate on are on section 2 (a) (b) of the fourth schedule.

(ii) Making Resolutions and Approval.

The council exercises its powers through resolutions and approval in

relation to individual or specific cases.

(a). A resolution to remove the chairman or leader of the council by a

two third majority. This function is distinct from the authority

to make bye-laws, which have wide applicability in the area

(Ojong:2002:75).

(b). The power to approve by a simple majority of the members of the

council the nomination of the Chairman of the Local

Government, for the appointment of the Vice-Chairman of the

Local Government in case of vacancy by reason of death,

resignation or removal.

(c) The power to approve the nomination of any one appointed by the

Chairman of the Local Government as Supervisor. (Ugwu:

2000:18, Issues in Local Government and Urban Administration).

CHAPTER TWO

2.0 LOCAL GOVERNMENT REFORM IN NIGERIA

The history of local government system in Nigeria dates back to the colonial days.

Although contact with Europeans dates back to the fifteenth century, it was not

until 1861 before the first steps were taken to establish an administration by

Britain. The colonial administration that was established was based on indirect

rule. This requires that the administration should be carried out through traditional

rulers and institutions. This led to the establishment of native authorities in their

most rudimentary forms from the 1890s to the 1930s. The main function of the

native authorities was to maintain law and order.

The first native authority ordinance recognized traditional rulers as native

authorities. This was easily done in Northern Nigeria but there was a problem in

identifying who those authorities were in Southern Nigeria. This necessitated the

first reforms in the 1930s and the 1940s culminating in the establishment of chiefs-

in-council and chiefs-and-council in place of sole native authorities. The Chief-in-

Council is made up of the chief and members of council. The chief presides at all

meetings and acts in accordance with the majority of opinion in the council. But if

he disagrees with the council, he would take whatever action he thought best and

inform the Governor of the region. Contrarily, in the Chief-and-Council, the chief

has no power to act against the decision or advice of the council. Under this

arrangement, people particularly representatives of missionaries and British trading

interest were appointed into the native authorities. The process of appointment of

nominated members by the colonial government meant that nationalists were not

appointed to serve on the councils. This led to further agitation for reforms in the

native authorities.

In the years 1950-55, the first largely elected local government council based on

the British Whitehall model emerged in Lagos and the former Eastern and Western

regions. Traditional rulers constituted not more than 25 percent of most councils in

the then Western region and Lagos. However, in Northern Nigeria, the changes

were more gradual. The legal framework for local government at this period was

provided by the Eastern region local government ordinance of 1950, the Western

region local government law of 1952 and the 1954 Native Authority law in

Northern Nigeria. By this time, the councils were given a wider range of functions

including primary education, health, police, judiciary e.t.c. This is in line with the

implementation of the colonial government’s ten-year welfare and development

plan (1946-1956). The councils also enjoyed a great measure of autonomy in

financial, personnel and general administrative matters. It can therefore be said that

the 1950s was the era of pupilage for councils in modern local government

throughout Nigeria.

Between 1960-1966, there was a decline in the prestige and responsibilities of local

authorities. In the former Western region, the local government (Amendment) law

1960 abolished the powers of councils to levy education and general rates on the

basis of need. In Lagos, there was a high rate of default in the payment of property

rates including government institutions, which reduced the revenue of the local

councils. The situation in Eastern Nigeria was similar to the West before the

outbreak of the civil war in 1967. In Northern Nigeria, there were gradual changes

in the structure of the councils with increasing numbers of elected or appointed

non-traditional office holders becoming members of local authorities. The result

was that the local authorities had a stable administration, which enabled them to

assume responsibility, with some degree of success for more complex services like

primary education. Between 1969/71, some state government introduced some

changes in the structure of their councils.

In 1976, the Federal Government in collaboration with the state government

embarked on extensive reforms of local government. The objectives of the reform

were outlined as follows:

1. To make appropriate services and development activities responsive to

local wishes and initiatives by devolving or delegating them to local

representative bodies.

2. To facilitate the exercise of democratic self-government close to the grass

roots of our society and to encourage initiative and leadership potential.

3. Mobilisation of human material resources through the involvement of

members of the public in their local development, and

4. To provide a two-way channel of communication between local

communities and government (both State and Federal)

For the first time in the history of local government in Nigeria, a uniform system

was developed for the whole country. According to the then Chief of staff

Brigadier Shehu M. Yar Adu’a in his forward to the Guidelines for Local

Government Reform (1976):

In embarking on these reforms, the Federal Military Government was essentially

motivated by the necessity to stabilize and rationalize Government at the local

level. This must of necessity entail the decentralization of some significant

functions of state governments to local levels in order to harness local resources for

rapid development.

Unlike previous reform measures, which were highly restricted in scope and range,

the 1976 reforms conceptualized local government as the third tier of government

operating within a common institutional framework with defined functions and

responsibilities. As the third tier of government, the local government gets

statutory grants from Federal and state governments, and is expected to serve as

agent of development especially in rural areas. According to the 1976 reform, 75

percent of members of the council are to be elected through the secret ballot on a

no-party basis under the direct and indirect systems of election. The remaining 25

percent are to be nominated by the State government. Following the reform, the

Federal Government in 1977, allocated 5 percent of federally collected revenue to

local government.

The intentions of the 1976 reform were debated by the constitution drafting

Committee and the Constituent assembly in 1978. The result is that the 1979

constitution reaffirmed the development function as provide for in section 7,

subsection 3.

It shall be the duty of a local government council within the State to participate in

economic planning and development of the area referred to in subsection (2) of this

section and to this end an economic planning board shall be established by a law

enacted by the House of assembly of the State.

In addition, section seven of the 1979 Constitution provided for a democratically

elected local government council for the country. Unfortunately, during the Alhaji

Shehu Shagari regime (1979-1983), the constitutional provisions were neglected.

No elections were held and sole administrators were appointed. The Mohammadu

Buhari regime (1983-1984) continued with the system of sole administrators.

During Babangida regime (1984-1992) there were certain reforms aimed at

ensuring local government autonomy. These included the abolition of the Ministry

of Local Government; establishment of executive and legislative arms in local

councils; and direct allocation to local government without passing through State

government. The regime also increased local government statutory allocation from

15 percent to 20 percent with effect from 1992. It is important to point out that the

intergovernmental relations between the Federal, state and local government has

been characterized by both co-operation and conflict; but it is conflict that has

predominated State-local Government relations. Some state governments have

been known to have hijacked and diverted Federal government’s allocation to local

governments. This is why one of the features of the reform during Ibrahim

Babangida’s regime was to make allocations directly to local governments without

going through state government.

2.1 THE MILITARY AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT IN NIGERIA

The military has played a dominant role in the history, politics and constitutional

development of Nigeria. There is hardly any analysis on any socio-economic,

historical and political issue in Nigeria that can be done without looking at the

impact of the military. Out of the 43 years of post independence Nigeria, the

military has ruled the country for 29 years. The military no doubt has become a

major force in determining and shaping socio-political relations. The Nigerian

regiment of the West African frontier Force set up in 1897 metamorphosed into the

Nigerian army in 1958, two years to independence. The army was set up to defend

the country from external forces and help in the maintenance of law and order

within the country. But the army went beyond its mandate to intervene in the

Nigerian political scene. The first military coup took place in Nigeria in 1966 and

all local government councils were abolished and sole administrators were

appointed. The concept of sole administratorship is autocratic and undemocratic. It

does not allow for participation by the people. Consultation and the building of

consensus were jettisoned and local government autonomy was destroyed. 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. 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. In

addition, the election of the chairman of the council is subject to ratification by the

State Governor. This laid the basis of the interference in the conduct of the affairs

of local government by military and civilian Governors till date.

2.2 LOCAL GOVERNMENT IN THE FOURTH REPUBLIC (1999-2003)

Nigerian political history has been divided into four republics of civilian regime:

1960-66(first republic), 1979-83(Second Republic), 1990-92(Third Republic) and

1999-date (fourth republic). In preparation for the fourth republic, local

government election was held on 5 December 1998. They did not assume office

until six months later in May. 1999. The electoral law under which the official of

the local government were elected (the Basic Constitutional and Transitional

Provisions Decree No. 36 of 1998) provided for tenure of 3 years. This means that

their tenure was supposed to end by May, 2002. But the local government officials

desired to have their tenure extended by one year to be at par with all other

political leaders in other tiers of government. They found ready support in the

National Assembly where many of the leading officials are engaged in struggle for

political power with the State Governors. The National Assembly then extended

the tenure of local government officials by legislation. In any case the matter was

settled by the Supreme Court, which held that “no law by the National Assembly

can increase or alter the tenure of elected officers of local government.”

Meanwhile, although elections into local government was to be conducted by State

Independent Electoral Commission (SIEC), the Independent National Electoral

commission had the responsibility of updating the voters register and making same

available to SIECs. The SIECs fixed May 18, 2002 for elections into the local

government councils but INEC failed to produce and make a voters register

available to the SIECs. The governors then appointed caretaker committees to

serve for 3 months. A new date for the lection was chosen to be August 10, 2002.

Three new political parties were then registered and postponement of the elections

was canvassed to give the new parties time to prepare. A new date of December

was agreed upon. By December 2002, INEC registered 24 additional political

parties making the number of political parties in the country to be thirty. Attention

was now shifted to the national elections, which were held in April/May, 2003.

After the elections into the National Assembly, Presidential/Gubernatorial and

State Houses of Assembly elections, the Forum of State Independent Electoral

Commissions (FOSIECOM) agreed on 21 June, 2003 as the date to conduct the

local government elections. On 17 June 2003, the forum of the 36 Governors met

and resolved to push for constitutional amendment to empower State Governors to

appoint council chairmen and councilors. A day later the Governors met with the

President at the council of State meeting where they decided to set up a Technical

committee on the Review of the Structure of Local government Councils in

Nigeria with the following members:

a. Alh. Umaru Sanda Ndayako(Etsu Nupe)- Chairman

b. Alh. Liman Chiroma(representing North East)

c. Barrister John Ochoga(representing North central)

d. Prof. Godwin Odenigwe(representing South East)

e. Mr. Augustine Udoh-Ekong(representing South South)

f. Prof. Akin Mabogunje (representing South west)

g. Senator Tunde Ogbeha( Senate)

h. Hon Austin Okpara (House of Representatives)

i. Mrs Abieyuwa Garba (representing Women)

j. Mr. Venatius Ikem (representing Youth)

h. Alh. I.B. Sali (Secretary)

The terms of reference of the committee are as follows:

(i) Examine the problem of inefficiency and high cost of governance with a

view to reducing the costs and wastages at the three tiers of government;

(ii) Review the performance of local governments within the last four years

and consider the desirability or otherwise of retaining the local government

as the third tier of government. In that regard consider, among other

options, the adoption of a modified version of the pre-1976 local

government system of government.

(iii) Examine the high cost of electioneering campaign in the country and

consider among other options, the desirability of whether political parties,

rather than individual office seekers, should canvass for votes in elections,

and

(iv) Consider any other matter, which in the opinion of the technical

committee are germane to the goal of efficient structure of governance in

Nigeria.

The reasons given for setting up the committee include the non-performance or

gross under-performance of the local governments; the high cost of governments

and near prohibitive costs of electioneering campaigns to individual political

contestants in Nigeria and atomization and continual fragmentation of local

government councils including impractical division of towns and cities into

unworkable mini-local governments. An analysis of the above problems will show

clearly that the problems are not unique to local government. On the charge of non-

performance, many Nigerians would argue that most states of the federation and

even the Federal Government are guilty of the same charge. In addition, there is a

general misconception that the local government is the most corrupt tier of

government. Nobody has carried out any empirical study to compare the levels of

corruption among the three tiers of government. In 1999, immediately after

President Obasanjo assumed office, it was reported that a permanent secretary in

the Federal civil service stole the sum of four hundred million naira in one single

transaction. One just wonders whether that level of fraud is possible in a local

government. It is my considered view that because many of the officials in local

government are relatively poor before going into office, their transformation from

embezzlement of public fund is more glaring. There is corruption in all tiers of

government. What is required is a comprehensive, well focused and concerted

effort to fight corruption in Nigeria. Furthermore, the reason of the prohibitive cost

of electioneering as the reason to single out local government for reform is

laughable. Any person resident in Nigeria will know that contestants to local

government as councilors spend the least amount of money. The ‘high spenders’

are the contestants for the offices of Governor and President. Reform is needed in

Nigeria about party financing and campaign financing but local government is

obviously not the most problematic.

There are three curious issues regarding the membership and terms of reference of

the Technical committee on the Review of the Structure of Local Government

Councils in Nigeria. First, all over the world, participation of ordinary people in

governance is being promoted. This recognizes the fact that governance issues are

not necessarily technical issues that people with relevant experience cannot handle.

The fixation for technical committees in Nigeria is the difficulty of overcoming

elitist approach and arrogance. Secondly, a traditional ruler, the Etsu Nupe, heads

the committee. As shown earlier, the reforms that have been made in local

government system over the years consistently decreased the role and importance

of traditional rulers and increased the participation of the people. It will be

interesting to know whether this is not a ploy to create role for traditional rulers.

Thirdly, the terms of reference clearly states that the committee should consider,

among other options, the adoption of a modified version of the pre-1976 local

government system of government. There are two main features of pre-1976 local

government system that is relevant here. First, there is dominance and unrestrained

powers of traditional rulers. Second, the State Governor appoints the officials of

the local government. Meanwhile, even before the committee was formed, the

chairman of the Governors forum, Alh. Abdullahi Adamu told a press conference

that the Governors are calling for an amendment of the councils to allow

Governors to appoint leaders of local government councils.

2.3 LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND REVIEW OF THE 1999

CONSTITUTION

The 1999 Constitution provided for a democratically elected local government

council in section 7 of the constitution. But while the constitution made provisions

for the tenure of federal and state political office holders to be four years, it did not

make provisions for the tenure of local government office holders. However, the

constitution in the concurrent legislative list gave the National Assembly the power

to make laws “with respect to the registration of voters and the procedure

regulating elections to a local government council.” The same constitution gave the

powers to the State Houses of Assembly to make “laws with respect to election to a

local government council…” The confusion created by the constitution later

became a source of controversy between the National Assembly and State

Governors, which subsequently became a subject of litigation at the Supreme

Court as mention earlier. The confusion caused by the provisions of the 1999

Constitution on local government is just one of the many problems of the 1999

Constitution. It has been documented that there are problems in the 1999

Constitution with regard to the structure of all tiers of government, women,

independent commission, revenue allocation and the security sector just to mention

a few. It is recognition of this that the federal government set up a Presidential

Technical Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution in October 1999.

The Committee submitted its report to the President in February 2001. That

process appears to be stalled. It will be recalled that the Federal Government had

also set up two other committees (the presidential Committee on the provisions for

and Practice of Citizenship and Rights in Nigeria and the Presidential Committee

on National Security in Nigeria) whose terms of reference involves review of

sections of the constitution. It is quite obvious that what is needed is a

comprehensive review of the constitution. The move by the Federal Government to

single out the local government is therefore diversionary, retrogressive and a

democratic reversal on the gains that have been made over the years on local

governance.

2.4 PROBLEMS AND CONSTRAINTS OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT

PERFORMANCE.

Ojong (2002:112) highlights some factors that inhibit the performance of local

government generally. This paper extrapolates these factors; they are similar to the

factors that hinder the performance of local government in attaining the

millennium development goals (MDGs). These problems, interalia, include:

1. Poor financial base and limited revenue

2. Limited autonomy, where, although constitutionally recognized, the federal

and state governments dominate over the local government through the state

government offices of local government affairs, the ministry of local

government, and the local government service commission.

3. Leadership problem: this arises where the quality of leadership at both

political levels is low.

4. Lack of basic social amenities such as power supply (electricity), transport

and telecommunication facilities.

5. Unqualified, inexperienced and unskilled staff

6. Corruption and misappropriation of funds.

7. Lack of accountability

Accountability entails compliance –that is, being held to account,

Transparency- that is, giving an account,

Responsiveness- taking account and demonstrating that you have considered

inputs.

8. Lack of local plans and weak programming capacity

9. Instability arising from interferences from the higher tiers of government, who

distort their (local government) powers, structure, leadership, finances and

reduce their capacity to act on their own , thereby making them solely

dependent.

In view of this plethora of problems, says Professor Adebayo Adedeji (2000:

people centered Democracy in Nigeria), “Local Governments have failed in three

specific areas”:

a. Non-delivery of needed services

b. Lack of accountability; and

c. Inadequate models of good governance

These blames on the higher tiers of government by no means at all exonerate local

governments from utilizing the means at their disposal to attain the goals set out

before them.

2.5 CONCLUSION

The history of local government in Nigeria shows that there are problems of

governance issues. Over the years, efforts have been made to reform the local

government system and increase the participation of the people. Despite these

reforms, there are problems with the local government system. However, these

problems are not unique to the local government. They are also prevalent at the

State and Federal levels. The present effort to single out the local government for

reform with pre-determined terms of reference smacks of military hangover and

may actually lead to democratic reversal in local governance. 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. First, local government as a third tier of government should not

be scrapped or changed to local administration. Rather, it should be strengthened

and democratized. Officials of the local government should always be elected and

not appointed. Second, there is the need to put mechanism in place to promote

transparency and accountability at all level of governance. In this regard, it will, be

crucial to strengthen institutions of horizontal accountability and anti-corruption

bodies. In addition, civil society organizations particularly at the local level should

be reoriented and empowered to hold elected officials accountable. Moreover,

there is a great need to reform the structure of government at all levels (Federal,

State and local government). All these will require a comprehensive review of the

1999 Constitution. The Executive and legislature should display the political will

and commitment to reform the 1999 Constitution that has been criticized by all

strands of society. The reform of the constitution will address other issues that are

germane to good governance such as party financing, campaign financing and

proper electoral system to mention but a few. Finally, government should place

premium on the participation of the people in all governance and development

issues. If all these recommendations are implemented, not only the local

government system but also other tiers of government will be in a better footing to

deliver what Nigerians have termed dividends of democracy.

However, we make bold to say that local governments in Nigeria have failed to

deliver the needed services partly due to the problems emanating from their area.

Most local governments are yet to initiate any actions towards the actualization of

millennium development goals, which is one area that planning activities is trying

to address. Some may have started some actions without knowing that they are

working in line with the millennium development goals, partly due to their lack of

exposure to the existence of these goals. Let this issue discussed, be the mirror for

Local Government Personnel, Chairman, Councillors, and Supervisors to examine

themselves. If I may ask the Honourable Chairmen, Councillors, Supervisors, what

has been there effort for the people in their local Government, wards, towns, Clans

and villages in the areas of poverty and hunger , in primary education, in

promoting gender equality and women empowerment, in the areas of health and in

combating the scourge of HIV/AIDS and malaria. Have they provided safe water

for the people to drink? Have they fed the hungry children and orphans walking

down the streets?

2.6 RECOMMENDATIONS

We shall recommend and proposed only those reforms or an improvement that will

encourage and promote planning activities and that can easily be attained by our

Local Governments, taking into consideration their limited financial resources.

1. Establish city-to-city and Inter-Local Governments Exchanges to share

Millennium Development Goals themes such as maternal health,

primary education, shelter for the poor, combating HIV-AIDS, Sanitation,

safe drinking water, feeding the hungry.

2. Educate the Local Populace through the media as well as regular meetings

of the Local and Village assembles. It form of a stakeholders meeting.

3. Mobilise and empower the rural women and youth in self-generating and

small-scale development projects. Through this they can afford to feed

themselves and their families.

4. Take the Universal Basic Education Projects as the pathway towards

reduction of illiteracy and improvement of professionalism.

5. Embark on water provision for all the areas in your Local Government.

6. Ensure that all children are in school during school hours.

7. Collaborate with Non-Governmental Organizations within their areas of

Concern, since most of these NGOs partner with the United Nations and

international organizations in the march towards the attainment of the

MDGs.

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