Review of Public Administration and Management

Abstract

Securing Local Government Funds for National Development: An Overview

Anselem C Nweke

This paper interrogates the issue of securing local government funds for national development. Using traditional theory of fiscal federalism. It highlights the various sources of local government funds. It is basically a content analysis and all the materials are based on secondary sources of data generation. The paper observed that the degree of external influence and intrusion in local government funds by the state government is worrisome. Such external interference indeed subverts democratic process and undermines constitutional authority of the local government. The paper suggest the amendment of section 7 of the 1999 constitution that places local government under the state government, and recommends that local government should be granted full autonomy. The National Assembly should be the creating authority of local government as this will rightly place local government as the third tier of government with full direct allocation from federation account, direct and control over their respective localities.