The 1999 Constitution clearly sees the Local
Government as a tier of government and that is why its autonomy is
inevitable. Today, governors sit on their funds and misappropriate them.
At best, Local Government funds are used by these governors for a few
cosmetic projects in urban centres, to the detriment of the rural poor
and remote Local Governments, whereas their essence is for grassroots
development and bringing government closer to the people.
• Economic recommendations to the State;
• Collection of taxes and fees;
• Establishment and maintenance of cemeteries, burial grounds and homes for the destitute or infirm;
• Licensing of bicycles, trucks (other than mechanically propelled trucks), canoes, wheel barrows and carts;
• Establishment, maintenance and regulation of markets, motor parks and public conveniences;
• Construction and maintenance of roads, streets, drains and other public highways, parks, and open spaces;
• Naming of roads and streets and numbering of houses;
• Provision and maintenance of public transportation and refuse disposal;
• Registration of births, deaths and marriages;
• Assessment of privately owned houses or tenements for the purpose of levying such rates as may be prescribed by the House of Assembly of a State; and,
• Control and regulation of out-door advertising, movement and keeping of pets of all descriptions, shops and kiosks, restaurants and other places for sale of food to the public, and laundries.
From these functions, it can be seen that Local Governments are designed for the rural poor and has been embraced by almost every country of the world. As a global necessity, local government administration is such that virtually every country of the world has one form of it or the other. In Africa, Egypt, Kenya, Mali and South Africa have well established local government systems. In Asia, Afghanistan, India, Israel, Japan, Malaysia, Pakistan, Palestinian Authority, Philippines, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Turkey also do have.
In Europe, Albania, Andorra, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Isle of Man, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Ukraine, United Kingdom, England, Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland all have well established local systems.
In the North America, Canada and Mexico are good examples as well as the United States. In Oceania, Australia and New Zealand have excellent local government administrations and in South America, Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay all have thriving local government systems.
Local government or municipal government is a form of public administration, which in a majority of contexts, exists as the lowest tier of administration within a given country and that is how it is conceived in the 1999 Constitution for Nigeria.
In all Federal States, Local Government generally comprises the third (or sometimes fourth) tier of government but the current practice in Nigeria has rendered the Local Government structure meaningless by removing its autonomy. This is not so in other countries; though they may not be independent, they are financially autonomous in all the countries that have them.
In India the local government is the third level of government apart from the State and Central governments. Local government is the lowest level in the system of government in Malaysia - after Federal and State. Local government is the third tier of government in Pakistan, after Federal Government and Provincial Government. There are also three levels of local government in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
The Netherlands has three tiers of government as well. There are two levels of local government in the Netherlands, the provinces and the municipalities.The system of local government is different in each of the four countries of the United Kingdom. In total there are 426 local authorities in the UK. 346 of these are in England, 26 in Northern Ireland, 32 in Scotland and 22 are in Wales.
Canada has a federal system with three orders of government. The largest is the federal government, followed by the provincial and local governments. Mexico is a Federal Republic made up by 31 states and a federal district and Local Governments as well as Brazil, which is divided into 26 states and a federal district and municipalities at the same time.
To restore Nigeria's Local Government system, Clause 14 proposed for amendment by the Senate that seeks direct payment to Local Governments from the Funds of the Federation by removing Section 162 - the State - Local Government Joint Accounts – from the Constitution. This is one amendment most Nigerians are in agreement with, as the joint account has permitted the governors to sit on the Local Governments funds and to whimsically dispense with them as they please. Thus, to make for accountability and for effective Local Government system, the committee recommends the expurgation from the Constitution the State-Local Government Joint Account. Doing so is really needful now.
It is also important to note that the Senate is not planning to remove the supervisory powers of the States. No; what they plan is to allow Local Governments access to their funds directly from the Federation Account. How they utilize the funds can then be supervised by the governors. It is believed this will bring development closer to the grassroots, which is the reason nations have Local Government in the first place.
If you recall, the whole idea of Joint State - Local Government was originally planned in a way as to have the States to contribute 10% to the account and then redistribute to the Local Governments in the State in order to ensure even development. In practice however, States do not contribute the said 10% but instead, confiscate the funds that come to the Local Government from the federation account and apply them to the uses they decide to the detriment of the rural poor and grassroots development.
Critics fear that if this proposal scales through, it would only imply that Local Governments have more money at their disposal to embezzle. This would then increase political competition (including electoral violence) at the Local Government level and therefore would not improve grassroots development. Agreed also, the problem with Nigerian politics may be more of the character of the Nigerian politician than political structures, but the nation needs the right laws in place first and foremost, while equally fighting to get the right people in place.
Moreover, the contemplation of the Constitution is that money be made available for development at the grassroots level with the States retaining supervisory powers in order to prevent embezzlement as many fear. The fact remains: where governance is mostly needed is at the rural level. For that is where 70% of Nigerians live as well as the informal sector feeding the nation.
The nation needs rural roads, markets, schools, parks and more, and such are the functions of Local Governments. Developed as they are, Local Governments are still an essential feature in most advanced economies. In Nigeria, like in all other developing countries, the need for Local Governments is even more urgent and that is why the recommendation of the Senate Committee on Constitution Review to give Local Governments back their money is perhaps the most important of all their recommendations. Let it be.
