In many part of Nigeria, about one hundred and sixty years ago, the chiefs, the obas, obis

and emirs, etc., who were leaders at

the local level, were not elected by the people, they inherited their position from their fore fathers, only those born into such
prominent position could become leaders. In such scenario, local government meant a group of people at the local level, who
by the virtue of their birth, were regarded as traditional leaders of the people, simply to administer justice and not to provide
social services. But nowadays it has been replaced in most part of the world by more democratic ones.
According to Nigeria Local Government Reform of 1976, Local government is that government at the local level, excised
through representative councils established by law to exercise specific powers within definite area. According to John Clarke
Local Government appears to be that part of the government of a nation or state which deals mainly with such matters as
concern the inhabitants of particular district or place. Local government is the government that is closer to the people at the
grass root level so that it will see to the affairs of the people in its territory, it is created by an act of parliament or statue, and
it is the third tiers of the government that is the federal, the state and the local government
Local government administration is a government set up by a state authority as a means of ensuring effective administration
at the grassroots.
Local government is also created with a document called instrument and there are three main local government instruments
1. The establishment instrument: This instrument set-up a council, outlining its rights, obligations and powers.
2. The amendment instrument: This is also one of the instruments of local government used to reallocate, subtract or
add to establishment instrument
3. The revocation instrument or dissolution instrument: This is the instrument that dissolves the councils.
Parts of the systems of local governments are:
1. The French system: This system is highly centralized and a single-tier and which depends on the central
government for its existence. Each local government council is headed by elected Mayor. The Central
Government representative called Prefect controls the mayor. A prefect is a highly experienced civil servant
appointed by the President of France on the recommendation of the minister of the interior.
2. The British system: The British system of government enjoys greater autonomy and is democratic in nature.
Democratic in nature because it is not tied upon the central government. The local government acts of 1883 and
1894 created a pattern of locally elected representative in the six types of local authorities in Britain. These are
the Parish Councils; Rural districts Councils, Urban District Councils, and Urban districts councils, Borough
Council, County Council and County Borough Council. These councils are semi-autonomous in nature. The
councils carry out functions like the provisions and maintenance of personal and social services, libraries, house
building, health facilities, museums and art galleries. Each council has a number of councillors and it is presided
over by a chairman.
3. The Nigeria system: Different systems of local government have developed in Nigeria since 1914 the northern,
eastern, and western part of Nigeria have tried one form of indirect rule or the other. By the 1950s, when Nigeria
political leaders were responsible for deciding what system of Local government to adopt, the western and the
eastern had introduced a new system along the British type just decided in 1976, and more uniform system of
local government was introduced throughout the country.
The basic classes of theories:
The first class attempt to justify the existence of a local government on the basis of is being essential to a democratic
regime or for practical administrative purposes like responsiveness, accountability and control.
The second class of theories is contrapuntal to the first class of theories, it argues that effective local government
administration contradicts the purposes of democratic regimes; indeed, the two local government and democracy
stands in antithetical relationship to one another such that the weakness of one is the strength of the other.
According to John Stuart Mill he justify local government on three main grounds, the first was there are certain interest
which only a section of the community has in common and it is convenient as well as advisable only those who share this
community of interest should administer them. The second reason was that local government is one of the free institutions
which provide political education. The third reason was that of accountability. As Mill expressed it, not only are separate
executive officers required for purely local duties but the popular control over those officers can only be advantageously
exerted through separate organ.

THE EVOLUTION OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT ADMINISTRATION

The British Government annexed Lagos in 1861 and Lagos was administered from outside Nigeria until 1886. The treaty of
Berlin and active operations by European powers towards colonization in Africa necessitated the setting up of a colony in
Lagos. Lugard set up an administrator in 1900 at Lokoja in the North. But this administration came in conflict with the Fulani
Emirate of Sokoto. The economies of the kingdoms were still based on slavery and slave trade. Lugard built up an
expeditionary force and in 1903 advanced on Sokoto and defeated them. The Fulani Emirate collapsed. Lugard, therefore,
installed British Residents at the main headquarters and reappointed the Emirs as the administrators of their peoples after
introducing certain reforms into the system. In 1957, the West modified its law along the same line with the East. Instead, of
the two tier like that of the East, the West gave preference to all-purpose District authorities. Later the collection of taxes
became a Regional governmental responsibility in the West and also in the East. Although the West had made tax collection
the subject policy changes almost annually over the recent years.
The Structure of Local Government Administration
The main pattern authority of Northern Nigeria in the Native authority. It is built around the traditional authority of the Chief
or Chiefs. The 1956 native authority laws deals in details with the powers of Native Authorities constituted as Chiefs-in
council and chiefs and council. The chief in council is set up in an area which is traditionally governed by a state of autocracy
where the chiefs had always held executive powers.
The government of Northern Nigeria still built its local government structure around the traditional chief. Chiefs are
appointed by a council of chiefs with the Regional Premier as chairman. The chiefs are graded as first class, second class and
third class in accordance with the responsibilities of the post given a personal staff of office. His appointment as the head of
Native authority is made separately through the native authority law.
Differences and uniformity in structure from one Region to the other
The structure of local government authorities in the Southern Nigeria is a little different from that of the North. For instance
there were five kinds of local government councils in Southern Nigeria. They were Divisional Councils. All-purpose District
Councils, District council, City Council and Local Councils.
The councils may be different in names but they are on the same level. This is because the instruments creating each of them
gave them equal powers and no one is subordinate to the other. The only difference was that an Urban County Council is a
council whose population is large enough to have a separate council of its own.
The 1976 Local Government Reforms
Due to the shortcomings of different local government systems since the amalgamation of Nigeria in 1914. The federal
military government under the Muritala/Obasanjo administration effected a uniform local government administration
throughout the federation in 1976. The reform was meant to harmonise their structure and functions. The traditional rulers
were mandated to establish a traditional or emirate councils whose primary responsibility was to maintain peace, law and
order within their domain. They could formulate general proposals to be presented as a form pf advice to the council, and act
as links between the communities and the local government councils.
1988 LOCAL GOVERNMENT REFORMS
As part of the transition to civil-rule programme, the Federal Military Government of General Ibrahim Babangida
inaugurated the Dasuki Committee in 1986 to review the problems of local governments in Nigeria and make
recommendations for dealing with them. The chairman of the Committee was late Alhaji Ibrahim Dasuki, the then Sultan of
Sokoto. The recommendations of the committee as well as the governments White Paper on its report constituted the main
provisions of the 1988 Local Government Reforms. All these were later incorporated into the 1989 Constitution.
2003 LOCAL GOVERNMENT REFORMS

The Obasanjo Government inaugurated the Technical Committee on Local Government Reforms on June 23, 2003. The
chairman of the committee was the Etsu Nupe, Alhaji Sanda Umaru Ndayako. Following the death of Alhaji Ndayako on
September, 2003, the Deputy Chairman of the Committee Alhaji Adami Liman Ciroma , who was a former Secretary to the
Federal Government, was made the new Chairman of the Committee. The Committee submitted its reports to government in
October 2003.
Local Governments in Administration in Nigeria derived their revenue from the following sources. These are internally
generated revenue, constitutional allocation from the federation accounts, statutory allocation from states, grants, donations,
and advances from the banks.
Internal sources are:
Rates: Local governing get revenue from the rates. Rates are levies imposed by the local government on the use of specific
items whether individually or government owned.
Levy: The second internally generated revenue source is the community, cattle tax and developmental levy. Every taxable
adult or worker is expected to pay a fixed amount annually to the local government in which he lives for the provision of
infrastructures in the area.
Licences: They also generate revenue from out-door advertising, licences from radio, television, dog and liquor.
Commercial undertaking: Internally generated revenue also comes from the commercial undertakings like transport services,
small-scale industries, supermarkets, shares, dividends from investments and agricultural ventures. They make profit in these
undertakings.
Registration: The fourth source is the registration of birth, death, marriages. In each of these cases, some fees are charged by
the local government.
External sources consists of general allocations as well as specific grant from both the federal and the state government,
contributions from other bodies, grants, donations, as well as external loans.
Federation account: Local governments derive some revenue from the federation account. The local government are entitled
to some fraction of the total revenue of the federation. According to Section 7(6) of the 1979 constitution of the Federal
Republic of Nigeria. The National Assembly shall make provisions for statutory allocation of public revenue to local
government councils in the federation.
State allocation: Constitutional, states are mandated to allocate ten percent of their total revenue to local government every
financial year. The monetary value of the ten percent is disbursed to the local governments in the area accordingly.
GRANTS
Grants: The state and federal governments give grants to local governments. The federal grants are shared on the basis of
equality of local governments and population strength. Though the federal grants are usually rare and low, they are expected
to be supplemented with state statutory allocation and grants.
General grant: This type of grant is given to all the local governments to assist them perform their functions. In some
countries, it is called block grant which is given to augment local government internal revenue.
STATUTORY REVENUE ALLOCATION
Before 1976 in Nigeria there was nothing like statutory revenue allocation to local governments, it was the 1976 Local
Government Reform introduced by General Olusegun Obasanjo regime that introduced this type of allocation. It is very
important to note that it was the 1979 constitution in Nigeria that gave the allocation a legal backing. Statutory Revenue
Allocation therefore is the share of revenue between the central, states, and local government as provided by law.