The 1976 Local Government Reform and Effective Service Delivery in the Local Government System in Nigeria, 2000 – 2018: An Appraisal

The local government system is no doubt the government nearest to the people at the grassroots level. As such, its' importance in impacting people's lives cannot be over-emphasized. There is therefore a continuous effort to make the system functional at all times to make the local government serve the purpose for which it was created. Several reforms have taken place in this respect, one of which is the 1976 reform. This study appraises the 1976 Local Government Reform with a view to ascertaining how it has impacted effective service delivery in the Nigeria Local Government System within the period, 2000 – 2018. Secondary data were employed in the investigation of the impact of the reform on the revenue base of Local Governments, personnel management, and democratic political participation in the Local Government system. Evolution theory was adopted as the framework of analysis. The outcome of the study indicates that as a result of the 1976 local government reform, the Local Government system in Nigeria experienced an enhanced revenue base, improved personnel management, and more democratic political participation. A major challenge observed, however, was the interference of some State Governments on the statutory rights of Local Governments as provided for in the reform as well as in the 1979 and 1999 constitutions, (as amended). This impacted negatively on effective Service delivery in the Local Government system. As a way out, the study recommends that Local Governments should be given financial and administrative autonomy to enable them to control their allocations from the Federation Account and also the 10% of the States' internally generated revenue for their developmental activities. Joint control of the Local Government staff by the States and Local Governments is advocated to avoid over-politicization of staff. Finally, more democratic political participation by the citizens at the grassroots level is recommended to enable the people to contribute their quotas in the service delivery of their localities.