Local Government Financial Autonomy in Nigeria: A Lip Service or a Pragmatic Service

There has been a debate on whether local governments have financial autonomy in Nigeria. Some school of thought believe that superior authorities have granted pragmatic autonomy including financial autonomy to local governments but some others are of the view that the autonomy is only but a lip service. This research investigated the reality or otherwise of the autonomy. Descriptive research was employed in the study and the findings show that lip service is being paid to the financial autonomy of local governments in Nigeria. In spite of federal government's commitment to realizing financial autonomy to local governments, state authorities have been a clog in the wheel. There are also some constitutional constraints to financial autonomy of the councils. The research recommended a committed constitutional review towards granting full financial autonomy to local government councils in Nigeria.