Nigeria

Major constitutional reforms in Nigeria positioned local government as the third tier of the country’s federal system after the central government and the states. The reforms entrenched the boundaries of Local Government Areas (LGAs); codified a schedule of exclusive, advisory, and concurrent functions for the localities; mandated the transfer of federal and state revenue to local authorities; and guarantee the existence of democratically elected local councils. Despite the grand constitutional rhetoric of three-tier federalism, however, local government in Nigeria remains chronically weak and thereby contributes to the violent instability plaguing the north-east and other areas of the country. Local government has hardly been reflective of the agency of local grassroots’ communities. Instead, the centralising agendas of a paternalistic federal government, and the political machinations of predatory subnational state governments, have undermined the development of truly local institutions of government. This chapter examines the historical, constitutional, and intergovernmental contexts of Nigeria’s delocalised local government system.