Problems Of Local Government In Nigeria And Solutions
Problems Of Local Government In Nigeria And Solutions. Need Information On The Problems As Well As The Solutions Of Local Government In Nigeria? Check This Post Now.
Are you wondering what the problem of the local government in Nigeria is? Do you wish to know these problems and their possible solutions as well? Then you have definitely come to the right platform for this information. I have put together a handful of information on everything you need to know about the local government in Nigeria. We are going to have to understand what a local government really is before we look at the problems and of course the solutions to these problems.
What is local government?
A local government is simply a one of the three tiers of government and it is considered as the lowest of all the three tiers. A local government is usually administered under a particular state just like it is done in Nigeria.
The sole purpose for the establishment of a local government is to bring the government very close to the people because there are some of the functions of government that cannot be carried out by the federal government or state government if not, some parts of a particular state may suffer as they may not be reached.
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What are the problems of local government in Nigeria?
There are a number of problems of the local government in Nigeria which you should know. However, these problems cannot be fully captured in only this single article which us why I am going to give you the most important and obvious challenges of the local government in Nigeria. Here is a list of some of the problems or challenges of the local government in Nigeria:
- Lack of adequate finance
- Interference of the state
- Corruption
- Bad leadership
- Too many local governments in Nigeria
Problems Of Local Government In Nigeria
1. LACK OF ADEQUATE FINANCE
One of the major problems that have rocked many of the organizations we have in Nigeria today is the problem of lack of adequate finance. This particular problem has not eluded the local governments in Nigeria. The local governments in Nigeria depends solely on the monthly allocation given to it by the federal government and the internally generated revenue from the state but it has been noticed that the local governments many times do not even get what they are supposed to get because these funds are either embezzled or diverted into something else.
The local government thus ends up getting only very little compared to what they are supposed to get normally which then makes it difficult for them to properly carry out their functions as they are supposed to.
2. INTERFERENCE OF THE STATE
Another major problem of the local government which has been going on over the years is the problem of interference of the state in many of its affairs. This is simply put as the fact that the state has continually interfered in some of the functions of the local government especially some of the functions of the local government that has to do with the collection of revenue. They collect these funds and then fail to even remit the funds back.
This is one of the reasons why there are always a little or no funds with the local government making it quite impossible for it to carry out basic projects and providing basic social amenities for the community.
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3. CORRUPTION
Another major problem of the local government that you need to know is the problem of corruption. We all know that corruption is one of the reasons why Nigeria has been very backward over the years. We know that it not quite very easy to fight corruption as it can only be reduced to the minimal level. Many people say that the most corrupt of all the three tiers of government is the local government.
There have been cases where the funds that are supposed to be used for the payment of salaries of some of the workers or employees would be siphoned and also, we have heard casas of a lot of ghost workers being on the pay roll and other criminal activities. These have thus hindered the growth of the local government in Nigeria over time.
4. BAD LEADERSHIP
Another major problem of the local government which has been going on over the years is the problem of bad leadership. This ball down to the fact that many of the workers like the local government chairmen and the councilors are very incompetent. This simply means that they are not in any way qualified for the position that they occupy. We all know that many of the high positions in Nigeria are not acquired because of your knowledge in that particular field but because of connections.
Many of these high positions that people get into because of connections are not properly handled because such people even barely knows what it would take to handle such position properly which is why the local government leadership is badly or poorly handled.
5. TOO MANY LOCAL GOVERNMENTS IN NIGERIA
Another major problem of the local government which has been going on over the years is the problem of having too many local government areas in Nigeria. In Nigeria, we have a number of 774 local government areas in Nigeria which is quite a huge number. In as much as local governments are basically created with the sole purpose of bringing the government close to the people, it has been observed that these local government areas were created just to score very cheap points in politics.
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What are some of the possible solutions to the problem of local government in Nigeria?
Just like they normally say that for every problem, there is always a solution, I have outlined a number of solutions for the problems of local government which we have earlier talked about. Some of the possible solution of these problems includes:
- There should be a strict criteria for hiring competent workers
- There should be a way by which proper accountability of funds for the local government should be gotten.
- The state should give the local government a form of autonomy without interfering unnecessarily into its affairs
- Local government should serve the purposes that they were created for and not to be used to acquire cheap positions in politics.
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