ACTIVIDADES A REALIZAR

UNIT 4 THE 1976 LOCAL GOVERNMENT REFORMS

The 1976 local government reform was part of the military government transitional programmes inaugurated in 1975. The new military that came into office in 1975 pledged to return the country to civilian administration within a short period. It announced a programme for the disengagement of the military from political administration of which the re-organisation of local administration was a prominent part.

There-organisation of local administration was an important feature of the programme for three reasons:

• Strong, representative local government was considered to be a pre-condition for the democratic system at the national level;

• The desire of the new military government to decentralise power;

and

• The desire to reap the benefits believed to be entailed by a decentralised system of administration such as sensitive local administration keenly attuned to local needs and purposes, more effective local control, greater efficiency, and the lessening of the load of administration at the state level (Gboyega, 1987:136-138).

The main reasons for the local government reforms were that a representative local government system was considered essential to a national democratic system of government; that strong local authorities with clearly defined functional responsibility in a power-sharing relationship with the state was an institutional safeguard against tyranny;

that the reforms were necessary for greater efficiency and relevance in the provision of local services which would facilitate the integration of the national political system (Gboyega, 1987).

The highlight of the reform can be stated as follows:

• The reform provided for a single-tier structure for each local government with a minimum population range of 150,000 to 800,000. There was no maximum limit.

• A maximum of 25 percent nominated membership structure, the rest were to be elected chairman and at least two or three councilors, to be designated supervisory councilors were to be engaged full-time. The number of council members was pegged between 10 and 30 depending on population of the local area.

• The role of traditional rulers was clearly spelt out. They were to serve in advisory capacity through the traditional councils.

The provision for a steady financial base through grants, this comes in forms of federal and state grants.

Provision for increased internally generated revenue

The reform assigned specified functions and assured local government of two sources of revenue; the independent sources and fiscal transfer from the state and the federal government. As regards the functions of local government the reforms identified them as follows:

• To make appropriate services and development activities responsible to local wishes, and initiatives, by devolving or delegating them to local representative bodies.

• To facilitates the exercise of democratic self-government close to the local levels of our society and to encourage initiative and leadership potential.

• To mobilise human and material resources through the involvement of members of the public in their local development.

• To provide a two-way channel of communication between local communities and government (both state and federal) (Gboyega, 1987).

The reforms provided for democratically elected local council, in line with the provision and functions assigned to the local government.

The reforms provided that local government councils be elected either directly or indirectly. The council elects their own chairmen subject to government approval and takes decisions by majority vote. The local government councils are single-tier authorities with primary and sole responsibility for exercising statutory powers of the local governments.

The major aspects of the 1976 reforms were written into the 1979 constitution to ensure that the state governments do not go back on these reforms. The constitution guarantees a system of democratically elected local government; specifies a list of functions for local authorities and makes it mandatory for the states and federal government to make financial grants to local authorities. However, in spite of the significance of the 1976 local government reforms, it failed to achieve its objectives particularly during the second republic (1979-1983).

Specifically, the 1976 reform and the subsequent 1979 constitution left unanswered what should be the definite role of traditional rulers. Again, the financial instability of the local government councils somehow reduced them to mere structural decorations as they were persistently devoid of functional ability in relation to the various functions that they were charged with. Furthermore, the wards for the election of councilors were exceptionally large to the extent that some communities did not know their councilors (Bello-Imam, 2006). According to Bello-Imam, it is thus evident that the emergent structure suffered from various problems which tended to undermine the performance of local

governments. Thus, during the second republic, some of the state governments broke up or adjusted local government boundaries without due regard to the viability in order to carve out more favourable bases for their political survival.

SELF-ASSESSMENT EXERCISE

Examine the major highlights of the 1976 local government reform 4.0 CONCLUSION

We have observed in our discussion here that the 1976 local government reform brought significant changes in the world of local government in the country. It provided for democratically elected local councils, assigned specific functions to be undertaken by local government and recognised local government as the third-tier of government. In spite of all these, it failed to achieve its objectives particularly during the second republic.

5.0 SUMMARY

What we have done in this unit is to discuss in details the nature of the 1976 local government reform in Nigeria. We realised that in spite of the major significance of the reform, local governments were still bedeviled with serious problems.

6.0 TUTOR-MARKED ASSIGNMENT

1. Discuss in details the major aspects of the 1976 local government reform.

2. Identify and discuss the functions specified for local governments by the 1976 reforms.

7.0 REFERENCES/FURTHER READING

Bello-Imam, I. B. (2006) “Structural Evolution of Local Government in Nigeria”. In: Ekpe, A.N. (Ed.). The Substance of Local Government Administration in Nigeria (Theory and Practice).

Lagos: Asbot.

Fagge, T.A. (2005). The Future of Local Government Institution in Democratic Governance in Nigeria. Kano: Tahir and Family Holdings Limited.

Gboyega, A. (1987). Political Values and Local Government in Nigeria.

Lagos: Malthouse Press Limited.

UNIT 5 LOCAL GOVERNMENT SINCE 1985