LOCAL GOVERNANCE AND SERVICE DELIVERY IN NIGERIA

Abstract

Governance at the local level plays a crucial role in ensuring the effectiveness and provision of public goods to the vast ruralb population. Available facts show that more than seventy percent of population in Nigeria live in rural areas, where local government is constitutionally empowered to provide social and public services such as roads, water supply, schools, electricity, health clinics etc. This work therefore, assessed the impact/effectiveness of local government on the provision of public goods in Nigeria. The study adopted a historical and descriptive approach in data collection as well as basic needs approach as its theoretical foundation. The study therefore revealed that elected leaders at the local level have not been responsive to the basic needs of the people due to bad leadership, lack of accountability and transparency. The study also revealed that, lack of funds occasioned by low budgetary allocation,
restricted revenue sources available to local government and inability to effectively utilise its internal sources of revenue generation had impacted negatively on the provision of public goods at local level. Based on this, the study has recommended that leadership at the local level should be committed to the course of good governance and such leaders must be elected by the people and not imposed by the higher authority. Also, the financial grip of local government by state governments should be severed to enable government at local level meet her basic need provisions