Local government autonomy and federalism in Nigeria: Resolving the tripartite power-sharing conundrum through the judiciary

Abstract

This paper examines the nature of power-sharing in Nigeria’s federalism, its impact and inherent defects or contradictions in the  administration of Local Government. The debate over Local Government autonomy within Nigeria’s federal structure remains a pivotal  issue in the discourse on federalism. It took a decisive turn with the Supreme Court’s decisions directing the payment of revenue allocation directly to Local Government from the Federation Account. Nigeria's federal system embodies a web of Federal, State and Local  Government inter-government relations. While the status of the Federal and State Governments is firmly entrenched, Local  Governments have remained emasculated and subjected to the control of the states. Using the analytical research methodology, the paper constructively analyses power-sharing between the federal and sub-national governments. It reviews the legal and political  framework for Local Government that has remained topical. Through analysis of constitutional and statutory provisions, review of judicial  decisions on Local Government and the undercurrents underpinning the dynamics of the control exerted by the states over Local Government, it will ascertain the challenges for Local Government autonomy, which include financial dependence and undue  interference from the state/federal government, constitutional ambiguities on the status and power of Local Government resulting in  intergovernmental conflicts. In preferring actionable remedies, the paper advocated for constitutional reforms to specifically delineate  the status and responsibilities of local government within the federal order, political and fiscal autonomy and a credible mechanism for  conducting local government elections. It concludes that local government, as the pivot of grassroots development, should be integrated  as an autonomous political entity in a tripartite power-sharing, free from the manipulation of the states.