CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1
Background of the Study
Local government from inception in the colonial eera
to the present time has played significant roles in the socio-political an
economic life of the people. It has moved from being an agent of the colonial
administration to a recognised third tier of government in Nigeria. This feat
was achieved through a nation-wide local government reform carried out in 1976.
In carrying out the reforms, the then Federal Military Government under
Obasanjo/Shehu Yaradua’s leadership, took cognizance of the defects of the
previous local government system in Nigeria hence, the declaration in the
forward to the guidelines for local government reforms of 1976 states that:
“The defects of previous local government system are
too well known to deserve further elaboration here. Local governments have over
the years suffered from the continous whitting doen of their powers. The state
governments have continued to encroach upon what would normally have been the
exclusive preserve of local government. Lack of adequate funds and appropriate
institutions has continued to make local government ineffective and
ineffectual. Moreover, the staffing arrangement to ensure a virile local
government system had been inadequate. Excessive politics had made even
progress impossible.
Consequently, there has been a divorce between
people and goernment institutions at the most level.”
The reform went further to recognise local
government as the third tier of governmetn in Nigeria. The reforms were
intended to stimulate democratic self-government and to encourage intiative,
leadership potential and enshrine the principles of political responsbility and
provision for ensuring adequate human and financial resources with complete and
self contained budgets so that the whole facets of a local government within an
area could be identified, costed and cordinated.
In
order to eliminate the inefficiency, incompetence, inability to hire and retain
sevices of qualified personnel, the Federal Government identified and
designated three federal institutions viz: Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria;
University of Nigeria Nsukka and Obafemi Awolowo University to implement the
aspects of the programme relating to high manpower development for local
government in Nigeria.
However,
it is regretable that the local government system has been bedeviled with
catalogue of deficiencies and ills far from the dreams of the founding fathers
of the 1976 Reforms. Consequently, this has led to the dissolution of local
government councils on many occasions, on grounds of either change of
government at the national level or on account of official corruption and
embezzelement of public funds by functionaries. It is now a common knowledge
that if the system of local government is to serve as a veritable vehicle for
transforming oour rural society, the debilitating seffects of
misallocation, misapplication and for
misappropriation of resources must be taken to ensure total eradication, or
reasonable reduction of the afromentioned vices.
The
central focus of this research study therefore is to exammine the state of
public accountability in the local government system in Nigeria with emphasis on
Umuahia South Local Government Area.
1.2
Statement of the Problem
It need not be over emphasized that the aim for the
establishment of local government is to adeqately link the ruralities to thr
mainstearm in htewhole world Nigeria being no exception. The reform of the
1976, as earlier mentioned made the institution of local government. That
reform succintly emphasized the need for local governments to remain a
galvanizer of progress with the rural areas, especially, in the provision of
infrastructure and welfare facilities.
Yet, upon all the resources shifted to local
governments, none have been seen to live up to expectations. Their leadership
has occupied themselves with mismanagement of resources meant to be used for
rural development. The roles of local governments have mindlessly been
abandoned.
This has translated to non payment of salaries, non
provisisn of amenities such as hospitals, schools, roads and bridges. Workers
in local government council have been demoralized with apathy expressed in the
disposition. State governments and other higher authorities have constantly
intervened in the affairs of local government inspite of constitutional
provisions on their autonomy. Most atimes, cronies of stste governors are
planted as Chairmen of local government without elections. These cronies as
stooges of the government tend to be only responsible to their principals
neglecting the immediate plights of the rural people. There is no
accountability and transparency in their leadership and the rural population for
whom local governments were created is alienated from the whole system. In
Umuahia South Local Government, workers are owed for several months. There is
over recruitment of labour influenced by political gladiators who are party
members of local government transition chairmen.
There
practices have made it imperative to as such question as:
1)
What is the fate
of local government institutions if this unaccountability persists?
2)
What future do
the ruralities have if the institutions which are supposed to take care of them
wobble as it is presently?
3)
How does
government especially state government continue to intervenue in local
government activities even when the constitution provides otherwise?
4)
How do local
government boast of democratizing the rural population when their leadership
are imposed, not elected?
1.3 Research Questions
So far, the research
questions which will be examined by this research study are:
1)
What are the
major reasons for the establishment of local governments?
2)
How has local
governments been responsive to the needs of the rural population?
3)
Has local
government been accontable and transparent?
4)
What are the
major reasons for local government deviation from theses responsibilities?
1.4 Objectives of the Study
The broad objectives of this work is to examine
Public accontability within Umuahia South local government of Abia State, with
the view of:
1)
To examine the
major reasons for the establishment of locl government;
2)
To examine
whether locl government have been responsive to the needs of the rural
population?
3)
To examine
whether local governments have been accountable and transparent; and
4)
To examine the
major reasons why local government deviate from these responsibilities.
1.5 Significance of the Study
This study will be significant to many, in no less
measure. Firstly, it will benefit Umuahia South Local Government, and other
local government. Evidently, it will be of benefit to policy makers in the
local government, especially in the area of privatizing development programmes
within the rural areas. It will benefit Federal Government and its agencies in
the area of exposing the ills, unacountability, irresponsibility and
unresponsiveness of the leadership in the local government.
This research may engender the revist of the
constitutional provision on local government, with the aim of re-instituting
their autonomy which has been debased by the state governments and other higher
authorities. It will benefit the Department of Public Administration in FCAI
and other tertiary institutions. It will also stimulate further studies and
research on the area by both students and cholars.
1.6 Scope of the Study
The scope of this study remains examining and
investigating the state of Public Accontability in the local governmentsystem
in Nigeria, with emphasis on Umuahia South local government council of Abia
State. This topic was chosen because data could be easily corrected.
1.7 Limitations of the Study
This study would have been extensive left for some
constraints. First, finance was a problem. As at the time of writing, most
workers in the stste were not regularly paid. My parents who helped to sponsor
the study were owed several months by government. This drastically hampered
sourcing of data, typing and bibding the whole work. The fuel hike also accentuated
prices of things generally, such that typing and photocopying became double in
price than what had obtained.
Time was another major costraint while this study
was conducted. As at the time of the study, academic works were on. The
researcher had to combinne both with the little time available. This evedently
made the researcher work day and night to attain the little success so far.
Thirdly data was no easy to obtain. Most workers
were apprehensive as some documents were classified: Most of them to whom questionnaire
were distributed were not available as at the time of collection. This made the
researcher visit the local government several times before all questionnaires
were obtained. The several visits and unavailability of some of the respondents
delayed analysis.
1.8 Definitions of Terms
Local Government: It is an institution created and ran by elected
councillors whose major responsibility is to attain
rural development.
Rural
Development: It is the means of
making development-oriented programmes
available to the rural people in order to raise their living standard.
Accountability: It is the process by which those who exercise
authority whether in government
as elected representatives or as appointed officers must be able to show that they have exercised
their powers and dischargedtheir duties
properly.