THE CHALLENGES OF THE SMOOTH ADMINISTRATION OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT IN NIGERIA

THE CHALLENGES OF THE SMOOTH ADMINISTRATION OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT IN NIGERIA. A RESEARCH PROJECT TOPIC ON PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY

The topic of this study is specially designed to enable us examine the challenge of local government administration in Nigeria and also to pin-point those barriers hindering the effective administration of local governments

These have been much emphasis on effective local government administration in Nigeria. This is due to the awareness of the critical role local government can play in stimulation cruel development. It is also behave that since the government is now brought close to the people , their development process can be made easy and as such development will be facilitated at this level by the local government.

In all the attempt at rural transformation in Nigeria, there has been emphasis on working through existing local authorities the 1979 and 1989 constitutions of the federal republic of Nigeria empowered local government to provide certain basic services.

Despite the changes in all those reforms and local authorities there has not been any meaningful solutions to these problems but rather the problems more compounded.

Local government is grassroots government by authors and bodies. Maddick (1963) defines local government as a sub-unit of government controlled by a local council which is authorized by the central government to pass ordinance having a local application levy taxes or exact labour and within limit specified by the central government, vary centrally decided policy in applying it locally

The Nigeria local government reform document of 1976 defines local government as government at local level exercised by representative council, established by law to exercise specific power  within defined areas.

1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Local government is an indispensable element in the governing of the country and also a provider and administration of basic services.

However on the recent years there has been a general consensus by the people that local government administration in Nigeria is faced with various problems such as lack of funds, corruption, multiplicity of functions, misappropriate of funds, political instability politics etc, all these drawn my attention to this research topic.

1.3 OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

The major objective of this study is to  explore the challenges of local government administration in Nigeria. Other objectives are :

i.        To find out if the multiplicity of functions assigned to local government hinder the effectiveness of local governments.

ii.        To examine whether lack of funds is responsible for the inefficiency in the administration of local governments in Nigeria.

iii.        To investigate whether the interference from higher government is responsible for the inefficiency in the administration of local government.

THE CHALLENGES OF THE SMOOTH ADMINISTRATION OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT IN NIGERIA. A RESEARCH PROJECT TOPIC ON PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION