Contending Issues in the Niger Delta Crisis of Nigeria - Journal of ...

Dr. Akpomuvire Mukoro
Local Government
Local government is used here in the context of central governments
deconcentrating or decentralizing management responsibilities and
resources to established institutions at the provincial or municipal
(local) levels. This act of decentralization involves the ceding of specific
powers, functions and resources by the central government to sub
national level government units. These sub national level government
units are independent and have a legal status enshrined in a
country’s constitution. In Nigeria for example, the federal government
gave a very good definition of local government in its 1976 National
Reform exercise. However, the definition given by Whalen (1976:28) is
most appropriate here. Whalen defined local government as;
A given territory and population, an
institutional structure for legislative,
executive or administrative purposes; a
separate legal identify, a range of powers and
functions authorized by delegation from
appropriate central or intermediate
legislature, and within the ambit of such
delegation, autonomy including fiscal
autonomy.
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