ROLE OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION IN NATION BUILDING

AND LOCAL DEVELOPMENT

1
ONWULIRI CHUKS CALLISTUS
MSc Student of Marketing
Lagos State University, Ojo Lagos.

Email: [email protected]

2
ODUSANYA KAFIU SUNKANMI
PhD Student of Business Administration
Lagos State University, Ojo Lagos.

3
OSHINEYE ADEBOWALE ABIOLA
MPil/PhD Student of Public Administration
Lagos State University, Ojo Lagos.

Abstract.

The capacity of a state to deliver public goods and services in an effective and
reliable way constitutes one of the key variables for distinguishing between
“successful” and “unsuccessful” societies. Public administration reform,
aiming at good governance and modernization of the state, is not an original
goal, while its implementation differs from country to country. The term
“good governance” is widely being discussed and also used from all the
Western Balkans Countries in drafting and implementing public reforms and
strategies in the path to EU. It is a broad term that includes values and
practices such as legality, justice, trust of laws and institutions, efficiency,
responsible budgeting, management of human resources and crisis

1
management. An efficient, responsive, transparent and accountable public
administration is not only of paramount importance for the proper
functioning of a nation, it is a central part of democratic governance and also
the basic means through which government strategies to achieve the
integration goals can be implemented. This study aims to define a triangle,
which describes the linkage of three essential components whose role is
crucial in developing a country, especially in transition.

Keywords: Public Administration, Nation Building, Local government,

Reform.

INTRODUCTION.
Issues of public administration, local governance, and participation in
processes are seen to plan a vital role in overarching issues of development.
They are decisive for the legitimacy of the state which rests in its capacity to
deliver on its political promises, and perform specific
functions. Local governance structures and public administration are essential
facilitators of this responsibility. The mechanisms enacted at local levels and
the administrators that comprise these systems are the channel through which
policy becomes action, and by which functions and services of the state are
allocated. Participation is vital to facilitating a deliberative relationship
between the state and citizenry. But if we talk about participation the key
element is to highlight who must be the promoter. And of course the most
substantive part is the public administration, the best representative. Some
experts suggest conceptualizing public administration as "an organizational
structure, a system, a function, an institutional construct, procedures and

2
processes or just a set of practices in the exercise of public authority." Abba,
U. E. (2008).
It also refers to a much broader process, in which the notions of public policy
and civil service are contained and sequenced, an aspect particularly
important in the post-conflict reconstruction period, as a government cannot
implement all components of these changes at once. Hence, phases need to be
distinguished in the building or rebuilding of a public administration.
Three broad models of public administration are usually distinguished:
traditional public administration; public management, including New Public
Management (NPM); and an emerging model of responsive governance that
emphasizes networks, greater openness and partnerships with civil society and
the private sector. Whereas public administration deals with those bodies that
comprise the core of largely appointed officials that manage public processes
and policy, and government refers to those officials appointed typically to the
legislature or executive, governance is the space in which these actors
operate. Adeyemo, D. (2011) Thus, both administration and government are
actors of governance. A local public official is a city manager as a translator
of political and administrative logic with significant responsibilities to align
the forces of politics and administration. We must pick out some of the
elements into which a public official must be/have in order to best
representation.
Responsibilities: Having strong responsibility to make sure that they provide
not only information to our governing bodies, but to support the processes of
governance that support the representative nature of the city council. I'm not
talking about getting involved in electoral politics, but in things like public
hearings, discussion, and deliberation; training people in the organization to
anticipate and foster participation; and building structures of participation that
will be seen as legitimate.
Roles: While city governments are attempting to become more accessible to
citizens to promote community building, the professions are becoming more
specialized and the city government is unintentionally becoming less
accessible. The Public official’s role has become that of a facilitator and
alliance builder, promoting and nurturing partnerships that involve city
responsibilities both within the city government as well as between it and

3
other organizations, associations, and groups. I think the most important
responsibility of any manager is to manage the values of the organization and
to instill a sense of responsibility in employees for them. Aina, D.A (2006).
Values: Efficiency, is not only connected to the prudent use of resources. It
also connects to professionalism and rational, analytical thinking. It underpins
the value of master plans, consultant reports, and the expertise that
increasingly drives public policy. Adeyemi, O. (2013).

-Representation, as a value is based on the understanding that elected officials

represent citizens in the absence of direct democracy.
-Social equity, underpins many moral arguments that council members hear.
It is based fundamentally on the belief that there shall be no second-class
citizens and that services shall be provided fairly.
-Individual Rights. The emphasis on due process in government work that
goes beyond the judiciary reflects the way this value has penetrated the
thinking of government officials.
Effective public administration in society implies cooperation or partnerships
in which national governments work collaboratively with lower levels of
public administration, the private sector, organizations of civil society, and
international organizations through democratic, transparent, and participative
processes. The decentralization of political, administrative and financial,
material and human resources, as well as efforts to increase popular
participation, are posited as logical alternatives to older centrist state
conceptions. Local governments are thus the appropriate platform to anchor
cooperation and partnership between national governments and lower levels
of public governance and administration in driving the localization and
acceleration of public sector capacity to support sustainable local
development. Strengthening the capacity of local public administration to
promote socially equitable economic growth and combat poverty in a climate
change compliant manner. I should indicate that with a well defined
institutional structure and an unambiguous responsibility and role assignment,
the public service would require a clear system of procedures, regulations and
coordination to facilitate local-level development. The new development
challenges require innovation and a new administrative dynamism to respond.

4
LITERATURE REVIEW.
There is a consensus of opinion that the LG is an important and inevitable unit
seen as the grass root level of government whether in a federal or unitary
arrangement. The form or structure or the tiers within the systems varies. In
Nigeria, it operates a single tier, while in Britain, USA, France and India are
multi tiers. The United Nations Division of Public Administration cited in Ola
and Tonwe (2009),views local government as a political division of a nation
which is constituted by law and that has substantial control of local affairs,
including the powers to impose taxes or exact labour for prescribed purposes.
Chukwuemeka et al.(2014), Otinche (2014), Ezeani (2012) Tumini (2011),as
well as Whalen (1970),note that LG has the following characteristics
including a given territory and population, an institutional structure. it is
separate legal identity, has a range of powers and functions authorized by
delegation from the appropriate central or intermediate legislature. lastly
within the ambit of such delegation, autonomy is accorded within its sphere of
jurisdiction and competence.
It is however sad that while these provisions were made in the 1976 Reform
and in the 1999 Constitution in Nigeria to enhance the capacity of the system
to be a democratic participation institution, effective and efficient in service
delivery; such is note the experience as observed by Kyenge (2013) and Aina
(2006). The concept of LG particularly in a federal arrangement like in USA
and Nigeria is routed in decentralized authority and power from the
central/regional government to the lower or grass root level (Youm and
Feiock 2015). This in effect is to facilitate efficiency and administrative
conveniences. According to Osaghae (1990: P.84), it means a system of
dispersal of power from a central government to other units or agencies of
government. Decentralization could either take the form of deconcentration or
devolution of authority. Deconcentration is the delegation of authority
adequate for the discharge of specified functions to staff of central
departments who are situated outside the headquarters as was found in French
arrangement Alderman (1967),opines that it involves the transfer of powers to

5
subordinate authorities, whether offices, individuals or field units. Devolution
in line with Amarasekera (2012),is more of the constitutional or legal
instrument of conferring or transferring powers to discharge specified or
residual power upon formally constituted local authorities. This explains why
L.G. administration can rightly be viewed as a deconcentration or a
devolution arrangement as the case may be. For instance, in Nigeria and
Kenya, LGs are more of devolution of powers because of constitutional
provision for their existence.
Every development is local. John Archers Abutudu, M. (2011),
Local government is the sphere of government closest to the people. Many
basic services are delivered by local municipalities and local ward councilors
are the politicians closest to communities. Organizations that play an activist
and/or developmental role should understand how local government works
and how to influence it. Municipalities and councilors should be sensitive to
community views and responsive to local problems. Partnerships should be
built between civil society and local government to address local issues. A
number of laws outline participation processes that municipalities have to use
to consult the community. Developmental local government means a local
government committed to "work with citizens and groups within the
community to find sustainable ways to meet their social, economic and
material needs and improve the quality of their lives". Extremely rapid
changes at the global, national and local levels are forcing local communities
to rethink the way they are organized and governed. All over the world
communities must find new ways to sustain their economies, build their
societies, protect their environments, improve personal safety and eliminate
poverty. Performance management is a system that is used to make sure that
all parts of the municipality work together to achieve the goals and targets
that are set. Local governance and local development comprise the combined
set of institutions, systems and processes, at the local level, through which
local authorities interact with and provide services to citizens, groups and
local communities and through which the later articulate their interests and

6
needs, mediate their differences and exercise their rights and obligations.
Therefore, local development is an essential condition to ensure the
geographical spread of human development; effective local governance
complements that process in support of inclusive and rights-compliant
societies.
The capacity requirements by the public service to respond to local-level
development needs may be numerous and varied but can generally been
categorized into five major areas:
Structure of the public service
Defined roles and responsibilities
Systems and procedures
Human Resource
Financial Resources
A clear demarcation of responsibilities among sector ministries and defined
roles for the respective levels of public administration is a requirement in
positioning for effective development management. Defined responsibility
can then be expressed into definite actions and most importantly matched
with the required resources. A response to the provision on these building
elements for local-level development requires a managerial platform that
regularly interacts with residents, communities, civil society and the private
sector. This managerial platform is indeed the local public sector, which is run
by the public service. The challenge is that we have responded with more
training and skill transfer without a definite consideration of the issues related
to motivation and condition of service.
Achieving Good Governance, how?
The notion of good governance started to be used when, in the mid-1980s, the
World Bank studied the conditions of success and failure of adjustment
programs (comparative study contrasting success in East Asia with greater
difficulties in Sub-Saharan Africa). During this period, international support
was conditioned upon 'good governance,' related to the functioning of state
structures, and to the states role in the market and relationship to civil society.

7
Good governance is firstly and above all the responsible use of power. The
concept of good governance has been measured, studied and defined by
numerous agents, international organizations and academics around the world,
who have developed an array of theories as well as multiple and diverse
standards for outlining what constitutes good governance.
In many policy papers and concept notes, governance has normative values
attached. In its most objective form, the quality of governance may be
"measured in terms of how well the various actors handle the rules that make
up the basic dimensions of the political regime." Many of the criteria for
assessing governance are subjective, making it difficult to clearly delineate
and understand 'good' and 'bad' practices. Public administration reform and
good governance continue to be key priorities under the political criteria. The
overriding principles are transparency, accountability and effectiveness in the
public administration. Adequate horizontal administrative procedures
concerning human resource management and public financial management
are crucial for the implementation of the reforms. The public administration
must have the capacity to provide citizens and enterprises with quality public
services, where possible
through the use of ICT (e-government).E-government has indeed the potential
of improving the quality of public services while cutting the costs in the
public administration. One could add that it also promotes transparency and
accountability in the administration. By putting fundamental public services
on line you'll reduce the risks for corruption. When we refer to the elements
of „‟goodness‟‟ we have to think about components like Government
effectiveness: the quality of public services, the quality of the civil service and
the degree of its independence from political pressures, the quality of policy
formulation and implementation, and the credibility of the governments
commitment to such policies. Regulatory quality: the ability of the
government to formulate and implement sound policies and regulations,
which permit and promote private sector development. Rule of law: the extent
to which agents have confidence in and abide by the rules of society, and in

8
particular the quality of contract enforcement, the police, and the courts, a
well as the likelihood of crime and violence. Control of corruption: the extent
to which public power is exercised for private gain, including both petty and
grand forms of corruption, as well as 'capture' of the state by elites and private
interests. The most common actions towards the adoption of good governance
practices and principles are the reform of the civil service, the improvement
of policymaking procedures, the promotion of transparency including e-
governance initiatives, and decentralization.
The current situation in the region is that of a politicized civil service where
corrupt practices are facilitated. The recruitment procedures in most of the
cases are opaque and are combined with political patronage. A career of work
for the state turns into the reserved privilege of the few while
maladministration and ineffectiveness are encouraged. Civil servants develop
into a lethargic and passive body that functions disconnected from the citizens
and has no interest in adopting an active role in the service of the state. Most
of the civil service reform strategies focus on both the recruitment and the
training of the personnel as well as the description of their tasks.
Decentralization constitutes one of the good governance principles in the
sense that it brings democratic and effective governance closer to the citizens.
The aim is the strengthening of local and regional authorities in order to be
able to satisfy citizen’s needs and to respond to the changes of their external
environment. All we have to understand regarding to governance is that it is
not performed only by top level managers or exclusively by governing body,
it is about all levels in an organisation, because every public official has to
focus on public service objectives.
THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
The paper adopt Democratic-Participatory and efficiency models/theories to
underpin the challenges of local government administration in Nigeria and the
relevance of comparative study in overcoming the challenges though other
theories such as integrate, accountability and Functional models are often
applicable.

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DEMOCRATIC-PARTICIPATORY THEORY.
Participatory democracy has been one of the earliest models in social
sciences, particularly in political discuss since about 2000BC. Mills
(1964),work on Utilitarianism, liberty and representative government that
serves as an impetus for renewed commitment to this school of thought, re-
emphasizing that local government is the starting point of democratic
participation regardless of other intrinsic and extrinsic functions it performs.
The tenets of the school is that local governments are created in order to
encourage participatory democracy and serve as training ground for
recruitment of leaders, provide channel of self-government and political
education at grass root levels. This was demonstrated in the works of
Chukwuemeka et al., (2014),Ani et al (2013), Adeyemo, (2011),that the idea
of local government is intricately connected to a philosophical commitment to
democratic participation in the politics and self-governing at the grassroots
level. For instance, David Butler in his study of British politics in 1964
revealed that 53% of Labour members of parliament and 45% of defeated
Labour Party parliamentarian’s candidates were once local government
politicians and political office holders. Mackenzie (1954),also illustrated this
with data showing that more than half of the Deputies and about the same
proportion of Senators in Italy had had political education in the local
government. In Nigeria, president Shehu Sagari, Umar Dikko, Ali Mongumu
among others started their political carriers at the local government level as
demonstrated by (Tony, 2011, Ajayi (2000:P.6),and Adamolekun, Olowu and
Laleye, 1988).
The empirical relevance of this model was demonstrated in the study by
Aragone and Sanchez-Pages (2008),in the city of Porto Alegre, Brazil in his
examination of how the system of Participatory Budgeting was implemented.
However, Fischer (1993),argues that representative democracy is not
generally considered participatory since citizens may lack the time,
knowledge or will to contribute to policy making. In addition, in spite of the

10
constitutional provision for LG in Nigeria and the 1996 LG Reform, it is
however sad that the manner in which the LG is run clearly and
unambiguously deviates from the stated objectives. The overbearing posture
of the State Governors in Nigeria especially since 2003 has strangulated LG
from serving truly as the third tiers of government. In most States, caretaker
systems were adopted to ensure that the Governors have total control over the
operation of LGs. In situation where elections were claimed to have been
conducted, the process deviated from any civilized democratic norms as
candidates were imposed by the governors and the elections conducted by the
State Electoral Commission only returned candidates contesting the elections
on the same political platforms as the governors. In effect, though Local
Government expected to serve as an avenue for political socialization,
recruitment and participation has not been fully realized.

EFFICIENCY THEORY .
This theory/model premises the existence of local government as an efficient
agent of government for providing services that are local in character.
Mackenzie (1954:P.14),cited in Adeyemo (2010),and Chukwuemeka et al.,
(2014),noted that one of the notable proponents of the existence of LG is that
local government exists to provide services and it must be judged….by its
success in providing services up to a standard measured by national
inspectorate. This same line of thought was found in the works of Sharpe
(1970:P.168),that given that there is no local government, a functionally
similar body must be in existence to provide services that are local in nature.
This explains why Eboh & Diejomaoh (2010),adds that local governments
worldwide are considered as strategic institutions for the provision, among
others, basic socio-economic needs This could be understood from the
perspective that the size and spread of a nation particularly those that are large
and heterogeneous in composition may not be able to rely on the central and
regional government to effective meet up with needs that are local in nature.

11
In effect, local government may effectively and efficiently respond to local
need. This theory therefore notes that LG may not justify its existence if it
fails to provide needed service within its scope of competence effectively.
The model has been criticized by Sharpe (1970:P.168),in the sense that the
value of local government as a bulwark of liberty, or at least as a handmaiden
of democracy, has been recognized, its role as an agency for providing
services has evoked no comparable enthusiasm. This is particularly relevant
to Nigeria situation in which the local government has failed to justify its
existence.
GOOD GOVERNANCE MEANS PERFORMING EFFECTIVELY IN
CLEARLY DEFINED FUNCTIONS AND ROLES.
Good governance requires all concerned to be clear about the functions of
governance and their own roles and responsibilities and those of others, and to
behave in ways that are consistent with those roles. Being clear about one’s
own role, and how it relates to that of others, increases the chance of
performing the role well. Clarity about roles also helps all stakeholders to
understand how the governance system works and who is accountable for
what. In order to direct strategy and ensure that this is implemented and that
the organisation achieves its goals, the governing body has to: allocate
resources and monitor organizational and executive performance, delegate to
management, oversee the appointment and contractual arrangements for
senior executives, and make sure that effective management arrangements are
in place, understand and manage risk.
GOOD GOVERNANCE MEANS PROMOTING VALUES FOR THE WHOLE
ORGANISATION AND DEMONSTRATING THE VALUES OF GOOD
GOVERNANCE THROUGH BEHAVIOUR.
Good governance flows from a shared ethos or culture, as well as from
systems and structures. It cannot be reduced to a set of rules, or achieved fully
by compliance with a set of requirements. This spirit or ethos of good
governance can be expressed as values and demonstrated in behaviour. Good
governance builds on the seven principles for the conduct of people in public

12
life. Known as the Nolan principles, these are: selflessness, integrity,
objectivity, accountability, openness, honesty and leadership.
GOOD GOVERNANCE MEANS TAKING INFORMED, TRANSPARENT
DECISIONS AND MANAGING RISK.
Decision making in governance is complex and challenging. It must further
the organization’s purpose and strategic direction and be robust in the
medium and longer terms. To make such decisions, governors must be well
informed. Risk management is important to the successful delivery of public
services. An effective risk management system identifies and assesses risks,
decides on appropriate responses and then provides assurance that the chosen
responses are effective. Public service organizations face a wide range of
strategic, operational and financial risks, from both internal and external
factors, which may prevent them from achieving their objectives. Risk
management is a planned and systematic approach to identifying, evaluating
and responding to risks and providing assurance that responses are effective.
GOOD GOVERNANCE MEANS ENGAGING STAKEHOLDERS AND
MAKING ACCOUNTABILITY REAL.
Governing bodies of public services have multiple accountabilities: to the
public (citizens), and to those who have the authority, and responsibility, to
hold them to account on the public’s behalf. Real accountability is concerned
not only with reporting on or discussing actions already completed, but also
with engaging with stakeholders to understand and respond to their views as
the organisation plans and carries out its activities.
CHALLENGES OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT ADMINISTRATION IN
NIGERIA.
There is no confusion in respect of the functions/roles of local government
administrations globally and with specific reference to Nigeria. These
functions among others include that of serving as an agent of decentralization,
grass root accelerated development, bridging communication gap and training
ground for future leaders (Ajayi, 2000 and Gboyega, 1987). In Nigeria, the
Fourth Schedule of 1999 constitution clearly states the function of LGs but

13
regrettably they have been found to be performing far below expectation.
There is no LG administration globally without its inherent challenges. For
example, The South African Local Government Association (SALGA) has
identified the ability to attract and retain skilled staff; the existence of
appropriate IT, financial and other systems; inculcating a culture of service
delivery; and good working relationships between political and administrative
leaderships with clear delineation of their respective roles as its operational
challenges. Schlachter, Coleman, and Anway,(2013),demonstrated the
inherent challenges associated with running Local administration in Britain
and by implication with developed economies. These include managing
budgetary demands in the face of revenue decreases and increased service
demands, costs of unfunded state and federal mandates as well as meeting the
demands of infrastructure and its associated costs. However, the responses to
these challenges in each system to a large extent determine the effectiveness
of the systems in service delivery. The challenges of LG system in Nigeria
include the management of its structure to enhance efficiency. Structure in
this sense refers to its single-tier unified system that is official recognized in
the 1999 Constitution of Federal Republic of Nigeria. Also, the population of
the LG according to LG Reform of 1976 is between 150,000 -800,000. The
implication is that when a single layer arrangement might work for LG with
low population like Oke_Ero and Isin LGs in Kwara state with population
below 40,000 such might be difficult in Somolu or Ajegunle LGs in Lagos
state with population about 700,000. The ability of the operators of the system
to respond to development challenges cannot but be weak and slow even if
there was the genuine intention to perform. In addition, a unified
administrative system might not be able to accommodate effectively the
peculiarity each of the localities this may lead to relocation of offices to meet
up with the approved structure without due consideration for their needs.
Also, unlike in developed system with multi-layer system of LG like in
France, USA and Britain specifically designed to cater for specific local
needs, a single layer in Nigeria has been found to be inadequate to cope with

14
developmental challenges. Furthermore, the LG in Nigeria has not been able
to perform optimally because of the overbearing nature of the state
government rendering the autonomy of the system relatively paralyzed. This
manifested largely under democratic dispensations (1979- 1983),and (1999-
2015). The resources accruing to the LG from the federated account were
considered too juicy to be ignored by the state government. Hence, hiding
under Section 7 (1) & (6) of the 1999 Constitution, various systems were
cynically developed to rub the LG of the benefit of appropriating its funds.
THE RELEVANCE OF COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS TO OVERCOMING
CHALLENGES ASSOCIATED WITH LOCAL GOVERNMENT
ADMINISTRATION IN NIGERIA.
In his contribution to comparative study, Tocqueville (1985),noted that
without comparisons to make, the mind does not know how to proceed. In
effect, it helps us to develop explanations and test theories of the way in
which system processes work and in which change occurs. This explains why
Aristotle (1831),and Dahl (1995),adopted comparative approach in studying
political systems and democracy. In effect, comparative studies enhances
ability to describe and understand a system, helps in the development of
general theory and so relevant for academic purposes and its practical utility.
The paper therefore examine the administration of local government with a
view of developing strategies to overcome the challenges inherent in
Nigeria’s LG system considering the structure, the layers, funding and the
degree of autonomy in US., Britain, India and France. The structure of LG in
US is based on four types of leadership, namely the strong mayor, the weak
mayor, the commission system and the council or city manager system. The
American LG system like Britain, France and India operates a multi-tier
system created to meet specific needs Youm, and Feiock, (2015). In Britain
since 1974 the structure of the local authority (LG) consists of Non-
Metropolitan County Council, Metropolitan County Council County Councils
(Wales only), Non-Metropolitan County Districts, County Districts Councils
(Wales only), and Parish Governments making the three tiers. In 1990, the

15
Nation Encyclopedia (2015),reported that only 235 communes out of 36,551
had more than 30,000 inhabitants; 84% of all communes had fewer than 1,500
inhabitants, and 43% had fewer than 300. However, as of 2002, France had
36,763 communes. India operates a three-tier system referred to as Panchayati
Raj. Locally they are called the Zila Parishad, the Panchayati Samitri (or
Kshetra Samitri) and Panchayati respectively. The common element in all the
three systems is that the political leadership are democratically elected,
relatively autonomous and responsible to the electorate. In India, the
Panchayati Samitri (or Kshetra Samitri) has a population of 60000 to 3
million and and the lowest tier, the Panchayat is from 2,000 people and above.
Tocqueville (2000),lauds the American local government system for its
democratic values, arguing that towns embodied “local-self-government.” and
regarded it as the foundation of all free republican government and the
protection of the rights of minorities from all great political combinations.
This explains why USA was referred to by Alderman (2012),in his
comparative study of LGs referred to governmental system in “80,000
governments”. It is essential to note that some counties or schools districts are
with a population of 227 people. In some instances, “Home Rule” which
simply means that local units are granted powers of self-government without
interference from State Law is allowed. Therefore, Youm and Feiock,
(2015),and Tocqueville (2000),lauds the American local government system
as applicable to France and Britain for their democratic values as Councils are
democratically constituted. The composition and size of each of the layers
within the LG tiers is largely a function of their complexity
CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATION.
The paper concludes that the challenges of local government being an
enviable institution for democratic participation, an effective and efficient
system for socio-economic development of the grass root and accountable
among others are attitudinal and institutional. These challenges are not
insurmountable given the sincerity of purpose on the part of the Federal and
State government to genuinely allow the spirit of the 1999 Constitution to

16
work by curbing overbearing attitude of the State government, minimize
corruption and make the system accountable.
The paper therefore recommends that:
*. Successful decentralization entails Federal and State governments allowing
the local government clear mandate as contained in the 1976 Local
Government Reform and the spirit of 1999 constitution to be implemented to
the letter without unnecessary intervention like is found USA India, US and
Britain.
*. The immunity granted the governor in the Constitution has significantly
been abused and the paper recommend a constitutional amendment to
withdraw it. Governor should be made accountable while still in office and
this may checkmate their excesses. The current arrangement while governors
are prosecuted after leaving the office amounts to medicine after death as the
damage had already been done and the judicial system is equally challenged.
*. The amendment of Section 7 is recommended by expunging Sub Section
(6b), that is: The House of Assembly of a State shall make provisions for
statutory allocation of public revenue to local Government within the state.
*. Other sub sections under which the state governor hide to divert the
resources of the Local Government should be expunged while a provision
with penalty be included in the constitution for diversion of LG fund and non
release of the10 per cent of State’s internally generate revenue.
*. The paper further recommend that the Third Schedule, Part II, the
establishment of State Independent Electoral Commission be expunged from
the constitution and the functions be transferred to Independent National
Electoral Commission (INEC) to make LG election to the council credible as
found in the developed systems. This does not imply that INEC has evolved
as a credible institution but it shall minimize governors’ imposition of LG
political operatives.
*. Other state governments should emulate Kaduna State governor that
scrapped Joint Allocation Account by allowing LG to have direct access to
their statutory allocation. In addition, the state governments should hand off

17
from constitutional internally revenue sources of LGs as practiced in US,
Britain and France
*. The oversight function of the State Assemblies, Office of the Auditor
General of LG among others should be strengthened to checkmate corrupt
practice rather colluding with the operatives of LG to perpetuate corruption.
Such arrangement might be view as a form of intervention but it is required to
ensure compliance with Financial Instructions.
*. Institutional mechanisms to punish corrupt public officials should be
strengthened rather than the current arrangement of plea bargaining leaving
corrupt to thrive.
*. Finally, through constitutional amendment process, multi-tier LG system
should be adopted by accommodating district and CDA to make the idea of
decentralization .

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