An appraisal of democratization and rule of law in local government administration in Nigeria

Abstract

Local government in Nigeria is bedevilled with a lot of inherent problems which almost completely defeat the essence of its creation and subsequent reformation in the first place. Ironically, its unfortunate position is foisted on it by the very document which birthed it – the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, by fating its subsistence on the will of the various states. This makes its naissance a stillbirth. This paper adopts theoretical research methodology to address the problems associated with Nigerian local government system whose functioning is willed by state governments, through withholding of local government funds, indiscriminate removal of democratically elected local government chairmen, systematic delays in the conduct of local government elections, etc. The work suggests that an autonomous local government will be better positioned to realize the aspirations captured under Section 1 of the Fourth Schedule of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).