Jurisdiction Impact of Revenue Allocation on States and Local Government Councils in Nigeria

Abstract

This article is descriptive in nature and it tries to ascertain the variousformulas used by federal government of Nigeria to allocate Revenue from federation account and their socio-economic impact on the states and local government councils. Primary and secondary data were adequately made use of in the study. Analysis was done using simple percentages in tables, graphs and statistical tests by use of students T-Test and correlation co-efficient. Major findings in this study include; the socio-economic status of the states and local councils are not significantly influenced by the level of Revenue accruing to them from the federation account; Interest to share in the Revenues accruing to states from federation account has a strong influence on the demand for new states. Moreover, Revenue allocation has been a very contentious issue and a source of worry to every government in Nigeria. The recommendations in this study include; Since higher amounts of Revenue from federation account has not guaranteed higher socio-economic status of the States, other alternatives for improving the socio-economic status of the states should be encouraged; Diversification of Nigerian economy may allay the fear on resource control and reduce the level of dependence on federation account.