Abstract
This topic local government administration and autonomy and issues around intergovernmental relations is a very cogent and relevant topic. Here in this paper local government administration autonomy and issues around intergovernmental relations in Nigeria has been exhaustively discussed. A lot of battles have been fought, back and forth by the Nigerian Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) for autonomy and freedom to operate as a third tier of government for grass-root development. This struggle actually started with the advent of the fourth republic and democratic rule in May, 1999, when there was so much perceived encroachment by the state governments on the autonomy of the local governments. At the commencement of the democratic rule in 1999 the civilian government maintained the intergovernmental relations that existed during the military administration. However, after four years of the civilian administration some state governors started questioning the financial autonomy of the local governments, which is the third tier of government. This issue became a cause of concern for many Nigerians and the federal government, this led to the passing of a bill for financial autonomy by the National Assembly in 2024 which was equally assented to by the President of the federal republic of Nigeria. This action has become a reason for legal tussle between the state governors who are challenging local government autonomy and the federal government. The supreme court of Justice in Nigeria has affirmed the law, but unfortunately the implementation of the law is far from being achieved. This paper looks at the three-tier system of government in Nigeria, different types of government, local government administration in Nigeria, local administration during pre-colonial and colonial era, local government autonomy, intergovernmental relations between the three-tiers of government, local government administration and autonomy and issues around intergovernmental relations, con
References
Abati, O.O. and Kugbayi, .O.(2020) Local Government System in Nigeria, accessed online on the 26/11/2023 @ www.livingreferenceworkentry.com. Abdulhamid, O.S. and Chima, P. (2015) Local Government Administration in Nigeria: The Search for Relevance, Commonwealth Journal of Local Governance 2015, 18:4850. http://dxdoi.org/10.5130/cjlg.v0il8.4850. Aleyomi, M.B. (2013) Local Government Administration in Nigeria: A Review, Africana, Vol.6 (2), 33-47. Akindele, S.T. and Olaopa, O.R. (2002) Fiscal Federalism and Local Government Finance in Nigeria, Internation Review of Administrative Sciences, Vol.68 (4) pp557-577. Adewunmi, J.B. and Egwurube, J. (1985) Role of Traditional Rulers in Historical Perspectives. In: Aborisade O (ed) Local Government and the traditional Rulers in Nigeria. University of Ife Press, Ile-Ife. Adeyemi, O.O. (2019) Local Government Administration in Nigeria: A Historical Perspective, Journal of Public Administration and Governance, Macrothink Institute, Vol.9 (2) 161-179. Adeyeye, M.O. (2016) Governing the Localities: Lesson (UN) Learnt, 284 Series Inaugural Lecture, An Inaugural Lecture Delivered at Oduduwa Hall, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria, on Tuesday, 22nd March, 2016. Chinda, I. (2016) Challenges of Local Government Administration in Nigeria, accessed at www.academia.edu.publishing.com on the 26/11/2023. Diejomaoh, I and Eboh, E (2012) Local Governments in Nigeria: Relevance and Effectiveness in poverty Reduction and Economic Development, JEL, available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2045439 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2045439. Egware, O.N, Akporien, O.F., and Otuya, S. (2021) Financial Autonomy as an Aid to Rural Development: A study of Isoko North Local Government Area of Delta State AJAFR, 4 (3) P63. Emezi, C.E.(1979) Concept in the Development of Local Government Administration in Nigeria, Verfassung Und Recht in Ubersee/ Law and Politics in Africa, Asia and Latin America, Vol.12 (4), Pp 371-382. Etebom, J.M. and Wijaya, J.H., The Historical Development of Local Government Administration and its Contemporary Realities in Nigeria, DOI: https://doi.org/10.55314/tsg.v3il.226. Ibietan, J. andNdukwe, P. (2014) Local Government Administration in Nigeria and Community Development: The Efficiency Services Interrogation, International Journal of Management Sciences, 3(10), 751-764. Idada, Walter and Isiraoje. L.(2017) Constraints of Local Government Administration in Nigeria, available at https://doi.org/10.1080/09718923.2010.11892848. NOUN (2023) Lecture Notes on Nigerian Local Government. Faculty of Social Sciences, accessed at https://nou.edu.ng/courseware/content/PAD. Walter, I..(2017) Problems of Democratic Governance in Nigeria: The Way Forward, Journal of Sociology and Social Anthropology. www.wikipaedia.com. www.microsoft.com/kidencarta. www.encartadictionaries.
